BLaCK Wings
by Guilt-Na-Rie-chan
Summary: A mysterious woman awakes to find herself lost in memory and idenity; only until a man carrying a bottle of milk with golden eyes and a branded XIII on his collar causes her to find a meaning...
1. Hit One: BLaCK Wings

Hi everyone

A story, finally, one from me!

Train Heartnet and the Black Cat Series all copyrighted to Yabuki Kentaro.

Esperanza (My OC) is copyrighted to me.

I wrote this. Yay me!

Read and review, now!

**_--_**

_**Black Wings**_

**_--_**

Hit one – Experiment No. Thirteen: BLaCK Wings

There was a dull ache in her chest as she awoke. The breeze that wafted by tingled her bare skin…she couldn't see very well. Only dim lights fly past a few yards ahead. There was…water falling from the sky in cold small droplets.

There was a thick liquid still covering her eyes as she looked at the dimness that surrounded her. The sky rumbled and lit up, lighting her dimmed world for the moment.

"Hey there," She suddenly heard; a proactive voice was calling from within the dimness. She stared straight forward; her eyes couldn't see, but she could sense a person in front of her. Her muscles tensed slightly and the appendages on her back stirred.

She murmured softly, "Who…" he reached her hand out.

The owner of the proactive voice snatched her hand and pushed her on her back, climbing on top of her. Confusion hit her like a wave until her defensive forces acted up. She felt hotness behind her eyes as she growled and pushed the owner of the voice off of her; she faintly remembered hissing as she sliced through the air with her hand.

She heard a groan, few steps being taken and then the voice fell to his knees.

"B-bitch!" he barked, pulling something out of his jacket.

Another flash of lightning showed her that he was pulling out something metal.

The hotness returned to her eyes and the owner of the voice suddenly released a crack and he fell to his side; she no longer sensed any life emitting from him.

A new smell wafted through the air, through the smell of water wafted the smell of blood. She was drowning in the smell as it brought practical tears in her eyes. It took her a few moments to realize that the loneliness and the fall of the cold rain was upsetting her. Still blinded by the waxy coating over her eyes, she raised her arm, looking for another form of life to help. Her salty tears were slowly but surely uncovering her unknown world.

She let her guard down for a second when he appeared before her.

The only specific thing she could possibly make out was his deep, sharp, golden eyes as his hand met hers.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She stared dumbly.

"Who…are…you?" she asked quietly through the rain.

There was a low chuckle as the figure threw a cloth at her. "My name is not of importance…put that on or you'll get cold."

The cloth, while damp, was in fact a jacket; a short one. She wrapped it around her body as she tried asking for his name again. "Who…" she managed to get out, "are…" she tried as a cool lip of a bottled glass touched her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, tilting the glass, "Drink up."

A cold, silky liquid poured into her mouth and greedily she drank it up. "Good," the man cooed, tilting the bottle more.

After finished the bottle of cold liquid, the man stood up and handed her a covering that blocked the rain. "Be careful out here." He mumbled, stepping out of the alley way. Her eyes maintained temporary focus as she tried to see who was in front of her…but as the man started to walk backwards into the street, the only thing that she could really make out was his now soft golden eyes and the branded 'XIII' on his collar, visible through his V-cut t-shirt.

"My name…" she whispered. But it was too late; the man was gone.

**_--_**

Warmth struck her body as she opened her newly focused eyes. The world before her was bright, still damp from the previous night's storms. But with the help of that man, she stayed dry all night.

Looking around, she sat in an alley way; a man whose neck was twisted far to the right had been dragged and laid up against the wall in a pile of trash.

Absent-mindedly, she stretched the long black, feathery appendages from her back, shaking off the excess water droplets from the quivering feathers. She also stretched the appendage that pulled out from her tail bone. Looking up, she saw blue sky with white fluffiness floating by lazily…she kept looking up and eventually fell to her back, crushing the delicate feathers close to her back. Wincing, she stood up all the way, still holding the umbrella and pulling the jacket, which was a dark blue, close to her nudeness. While her legs were wobbly, she kept her balance and stepped forward. Smiling softly at her achievement, she kept stepping as she thought about the golden eyes from last night. She stopped the moment she was out of the alley way. Her mind went back to the silky liquid that she now craved. She remembered it to be white…and cold. Looking both ways, she turned left and slowly walked into a building. While the outside looked decent, the inside was dank and dark with smoke choking the oxygen in the air. Her eyes started to tear as she stepped inside.

"'Ey baby," a large, keg-belly man said holding what seemed to be a slender stick, "what can I do for you?"

She stared at him blankly. "I'm looking for the white liquid," She said.

The man started to chuckle as the other large men 'ho-hoed' around her. Her feathery appendages pressed closer to her back.

"Oy?" the keg-bellied bald man started, licking his lips, "and where would this white liquid be?"

She thought briefly. "It was in a hard, long container." She put bluntly. All the men started whooping with glee.

"Really now?" the keg-man started with confidence.

She stared at him for a long moment as he said, "Well I have a nice large order of the 'white liquid' for you, sweet cakes."

Anger started to burn at her eyes; the burning was more intense without the waxy buildup along her eyes. This wasn't the kind man from last night, the one with the branded 'XIII' or the golden eyes. A low growl emitted and stayed in her throat as her eyes grew hot.

"Well? Why don't you come get some?" the keg-man asked with a booming voice.

The anger spilled and with a sudden movement, the keg man was in the air, controlled by the inner thoughts of her. Her once calm eyes held absolute rage and hatred, burning and shining a bright crimson. With a toss of her head, the man's neck twisted almost 90 degrees before snapping; with another toss, he was flung across the room.

Everyone fell in a silenced fear. Anyone who was close to her, backed away. They all could only stare fearfully at this crazed beauty that killed a man with her mind.

As her eyes cooled, she started to walk forth through the building and eventually ended back up in the alley way where she started. She looked up once more to see the fluffy softness was gone and also to see an assortment of clothes hung by a long wire. Smiling, flapping her wings, she glided up to the wire and saw a soft blue day dress and took it as her own, falling gently to earth and removing the jacket, putting on the dress instead.

She smiled more vibrantly as the cloth flowed with her body and clung to the right curves. She looked at the jacket on the ground and definitely decided to return it to its owner…more for the fact she wanted to see him again. But…she noticed inside the building that no one had wings adjoined or a tail hanging from their backs. She fluttered up to the top of the building and decided to wait for the night…where no one could see her black-feathered wings.

**_--_**

The moon was but a mere sliver as she took her flight; she was quite shaky at first, but very soon, as the crisp wind started to whip through the air, she gained her balance and the hang of flying with her almost newborn wings. They stretched out, causing relief to her back from keeping them arched in for most of the day.

The city lights that awoke from beneath her were fascinating; many coupled lights zoomed past on a long dark road; some light flashed, some were dim and some were bright. But she flew above the bright and saw the stars, the beautiful stars that shone more intense than the artificial brightness from below. She started to descend slightly as she suddenly saw an opened glass door with a balcony porch with a black railing. Like a cat, she landed on the railing swiftly and gracefully, gripping the black railing with her hands and her toes. Inside the room was dark; the blackness spilled out before her and her blindness almost seemed to have returned. As a light from behind shone, she could only make out a branded 'XIII' in a dark metal. That alone was enough for her.

She slowly glided inside and her coronas adjusted to the dim darkness; she could see dark figures that made out the room. She stayed crouched, like a cat as she made her way throughout the room. The branded 'XIII' on the metal was found on a squat table; it was in fact, a large looking gun. On the other side of the table, slept someone on a made-cot on the floor; his messy brown hair seemed as if it was flung on his face; he slept soundly and didn't notice her entrance. She crawled over to him and stared at his slumber. She'd never seen a human sleep and she smiled…and then she noticed the 'XIII' marking on his collar bone.

Her heart raced in her chest; this was the man she was looking for. Donning the jacket on the seat behind the sleeping man, she laid down next to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and breathing softly into his neck. Ease swept her body, ease and relaxation as she felt overpowering sleep start to take over her body.

She sighed and stared at the man who saved her…stared long enough until from behind, she heard the locking of bullets into a gun.

**_--_**

Nnn! That's it for Chapter One...I'm pretty much just laying out the storyline, but I promise; names and familiar faces will definately appear in the next chapter. For now, allow the suspence to kill ye! MUWAHAHAHA!


	2. Hit Two: Introductions

Kudos to my first reviewer, **Foxattack**! This one's for you.

Train Heartnet and the Black Cat Series all copyrighted to Yabuki Kentaro.

Esperanza (My OC) is copyrighted to me.

--

**_Black Wings_**

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Hit two – Introductions

She froze as she felt his presence behind her. "Who are you?" a dark voice demanded from the shadows. "Answer me now."

She felt the supposed man she held in her arms only to find a very well hand-crafted doll. Her heart started to pound as her breathing picked up; her first feeling of fear swept through her body as she fearfully turned her gaze to the large gun that was merely inches away from her. The man who did help her before-the real one, mind you- sat crouched on the table, his amber eyes flashing hostility while his large, dark-metal gun pointed at her.

She couldn't think of anything to do mentally so her body took over from that point; she scrambled up and her wings started to flutter, scattering dark feathers all around the darkened room. She fluttered to the back of the couch and gripped the cloth with her fingers, sitting crouched down low like a cat with her large wings spread out. She stared at him fearfully as he slowly stood up, his gun still aimed at her.

"That didn't answer my question, it only made a mess." He growled.

Her muscles tensed as he took a step towards her. "Now, who are you?"

Swiftly, her hand reached out for the jacked that she had thrown on the couch; grabbing it caused her to loose her utmost balance, and as her hands snatched the cloth, her body lost its feline balance and she went tumbling backwards onto the floor behind the couch, more feathers scattering. Trembling and more waves of fear crashing throughout her body, she held up the jacket as defense or as a peace offering. Tears started to drip from the edges of her eyes.

The man jumped on the couch and leaned over the back, staring at her on the ground; a jingle of a bell sounded his position. It took him a moment to realize that the jacket she was holding was his and that she meant no harm.

"Oh," he murmured softly, tossing his gun onto the floor and holding his hand out, "I'm sorry…I didn't realize…I mean, seriously…"

He reached down and grabbed her hand, tugging on her. She opened her eyes and followed his movements as he pulled her up and over the couch.

"You're that girl from yesterday, in the alley." He confirmed.

She nodded.

"And you managed to find my headquarters…" he mumbled again.

Once more, she nodded.

"I'm sorry for threatening you…it's safe to say that we're not exactly at ease, especially at night time.

We…? She wondered. There was only one person sitting before her.

"Well, I guess I can get a midnight snack while I'm up…" the man suddenly said, getting off of the couch. "Stay there, I'll be back." He ordered walking into another room.

Obediently, as to not anger her profound hero, she sat still as a board, not moving and waiting for him to come back. Very soon he came, carrying two bottles in his hand. Her eyes lit up as he handed her the bottle of milk.

"Here you go; a nice cold milk." He said with a friendly grin. He opened his top with ease however she had more complications; she stared at the top for what seemed like a painfully long time. She couldn't figure out how to open it. In her frustration, she started to gnaw on the bottle, piercing a hole in the top and drinking hungrily from that small hole.

"Okay," he said suddenly, the friendly smile still apparent, "Let's get some things straight. Who are you?"

She stared with her wide brown eyes.

Almost absent mindedly, she stared to mumble in a low voice "Vault 22962-7854, experiment number thirteen…"

With a slight gasp she murmured, "Black Wings."

The man blinked. "Unn…I-I'm Train…Heartnet." He said in uncertainty.

"Do you have a name?" Train asked, "I mean like me; Train. You…?"

She smiled. "Esperanza."

Train smiled and eased into a relaxed position. "Esperanza. That's a very nice name. Buuuut…"

He gave her a pat on the head and asked, "Don't you have something easier to remember? Like a nickname? You know?"

Esperanza stared for a second. "A…nickname?" she asked.

Train nodded; he was getting somewhere!

Esperanza shook her head. "I've always been…Esperanza." She murmured in her soft, but slow voice.

Train sighed. Dead end…

"Okay…well since your name is Esperanza…how about…Ese-chan?" he asked with a grin.

She blinked. "K-kawaii…." She murmured. "E-Ese-chan." She tried with a smile.

Train smiled too and set his empty bottle on the stout coffee table. "So," he started a tad serious, "Where did you come from?"

Ese paused to try to think about this question. Where did she come from?

Her mind started to wonder as she pondered the question…from what she could recall, all she could possibly remember was…white lab coats…wires…pins, needles…tests…monitors, computers…her body started to numb from the thoughts of those countless needles and pins and tests. As of now, the memory was so vivid; it almost seemed real, like she could practically feel those needles…

"I…don't…remember." She whispered to Train. She shuddered and started to shiver; a ruffle rocked through her feathers of her wings.

Train patted her on the head, "It's alright if you don't remember. I'm sure you will eventually." He said with some confidence. Ese smiled…but deep down, she thought that the memories she couldn't remember stayed suppressed; that she didn't want to remember them. Train let out a yawn and stretched his arms high above his head. "Well then…I don't mean to be rude, but I was sleeping quite soundly a while ago." He slid down to the floor, onto his cot and threw her a blanket, "There…you can sleep on the couch…or you can stay awake, whatever you prefer. I for one shall be sleeping." He smiled and his golden orbs softened, "try not to fly away," he said before cuddling himself into his cot and resting his head on his pillow. Within a few deep breaths, Ese could hear his heart beat slow down.

As a sudden wave of relaxation crashed through her body, Ese laid down on the couch, listening to her own heartbeat. As she closed her eyes, the memories of the white coats started to fade in and out of her head…she sighed. Taking a deep breath and curling into a ball, her wings being an extra blanket, she sighed and fell into a slumber.

--

"Train," a deep gruff voice, a voice of a smoker, started. "Train, what have you here?"

Ese could hear voices; she could feel their presence.

"It's a woman I saved yesterday that followed me…but look, Sven; she has extra appendages.

Surely they were talking about her wings and tail, they definitely weren't natural.

"And you let her sleep in our hideout? What if she's an Apostle? What then, Train?" the smoker known as 'Sven' asked a tad angry.

"She's not an Apostle; they have 'chi.' She doesn't…I can tell." Train said in her defense.

"Maybe not an Apostle, Train, but what if she's dangerous? What if she's another bounty hunter rearing to kill the Black Cat?"

Ese heard Train huff. "She doesn't have any memories, Sven. She didn't even know how to open a milk bottle; she's like an infant who can talk and fly. Leave her alone; she's my guest and you're gonna deal with it."

Sven grunted. "Fine then; wake her up and ask if she's hungry."

In all that sudden, Ese suddenly felt a slight tap on her shoulder; "Ese-chan," Train's voice rang, "Come on now, time to wake up."

With a flutter of her wings and a few forceful blinks of her eyes, she sat up, still feeling very sleepy. She stretched her arms in front of her and felt her muscles pull and her joints snap back into place. "Train?" she asked.

Train grinned, "Ese-chan, meet my fellow sweeper and good friend, Sven Volfield."

Sven forced a cracked smile and took off his hat. "It's nice to meet you." With another grunt, Sven walked into the kitchen.

Ese sat up and stared; her joints and muscles ached terribly. She stretched her arms in front of her body and felt her shoulders snap back into place. She then stretched out her wings to their maximum length and felt those snap back into function. Train stared in what seemed to be horror as she snapped her bones and joints around her back into proper place.

"I'm sorry," she said in her dead voice when she was done, "because my body's misshapen, that sometimes happens." She explained. A memory had risen as she said that. What she said was a lie; her condition that caused her muscles and joints to be so out of whack was from the tests that used to be constantly evaluated on her. Train nodded in understanding.

"Well, are you hungry?" he asked, "Sven's making us some breakfast."

Ese smiled sleepily and nodded, "I'm quite hungry," She said quietly. Train grinned and grabbed her hands, pulling her up from the couch. "See through that door is the kitchen and dining room," he explained, "I'll be there in a sec. Go on and make yourself comfy at the table." Ese nodded at his instructions and did as she was told. She sat at the table and stared as Sven was cooking small, white ovals and long strips of raw pink meat.

"How do you take your eggs?" he asked her.

Ese stared, confused. "T-take my…what?" she asked.

"Hn, he wasn't exaggerating when he said she had no memory," Sven mumbled, picking up one of the small white ovals, "This is an egg. You can take it scrambled, sunny side up, or non-scrambled. How would you like it?" he asked again.

Ese thought. Scrambled sounded almost dangerous, non-scrambled seemed a little safer but she wanted to see the sunny side up. She had never seen the sun before, and now that it was being offered to her, she decided that she wanted to see it.

"The sun." she said with a smile.

Sven sighed, "Alright," he said, cracking the egg carefully and letting the innards of the egg fall gently into the pan.

Train then came in, and exclaimed, "Good morning, my make-shift family!" A little girl came from around him and sat at the table. Her sharp, pinkish eyes stared at Ese. Ese thought she was very cute, and for a little girl, very beautiful with long, blonde hair that shaped her face and her communicative eyes.

"Train," She said in a same dead voice like Ese's," Is this the woman you were talking about to Sven?"

Train turned from annoying Sven and nodded, "Yep, Eve, meet Ese-chan. Ese-chan, meet Eve."

Eve nodded, "It's nice to meet you." She said politely.

Ese nodded back. "You too," she whispered. The little girl actually scared Ese and her feathers fluttered uncomfortably. Train sat down next to her and patted her head. "So polite!" he exclaimed with his laid-back grin. Sven then started to set down plates of their breakfast, handed Ese's plate last.

She gasped; on her plate were two shriveled strips of the red meat, only now they were crispy and short. Her egg, which she swore was the sun, was what really caught her attention. A soft, round whiteness framed a bright yellow circle. The color of the yellow she had never seen before. To her, this was art as it was food to a homeless man.

Sven, Eve and Train all stared in curio. "No need to get choked up," Sven started, "It's just breakfast."

To them, it was breakfast. To her, it was her makeshift sun. And even if it wasn't the real thing, it was real enough for her.

--

Yeah...she is fascinated with bright colors. She'd never seen an egg before! Cut her some slack. Read and review!

-Rie


	3. Hit Three: Sweeping

Train Heartnet and the Black Cat Series all copyrighted to Yabuki Kentaro.

Esperanza (My OC) is copyrighted to me.

Here's to my second ever reviewer, **BlackCatTrain**. This chapter's definitely for you.

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**_Black Wings_**

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Hit three – Sweeping

--

After breakfast and after Sven finished his newspaper, all three of the residents stood up and cleaned up the kitchen. "Time for work," Sven started as he pulled off his apron and hung it up. "Yep," Train agreed.

Ese cocked her head to the side in curiosity. "Work?" she asked.

Train nodded. "It's what normal people do for a living to obtain money." He explained. Eve nodded. "We just so happen to be sweepers." She said quietly.

Interest lit up in Ese's eyes. "Sweepers?" she asked.

Sven caught on quick, "No," he said gruffly, "you can not come. You'd stick out too much with your wings, and it's a rather dangerous job. Stay here." He commanded.

"Aw, Sven," Train started, "Who are we to just leave the poor woman alone?" He asked. Sven huffed, "Don't pull that bullshit with me. She couldn't possibly function in the line of danger. She didn't even know how to function at the table! It's too risky, it's too dangerous and my final answer is no."

Train sighed, "Fine, then, I'm not going. I refuse to leave her alone. You claim she can hardly think well God dammit, I'll help her function. You go on without me and catch our bounty."

Sven was baffled. "Train, you can't do that!"

Train was about to stand up and come back with a retort but Ese butted in, "I do not care on being alone." She mumbled.

Train and Sven stared at her.

She continued, "I do not remember much…but I do remember how loneliness did not bother me. Please. Your sweeping sounds very important and I do not wish to be a burden." She smiled warily to prove her point.

Train sighed, "Fine then." He grumbled. "Let's go, Sven." Sven nodded and all three headed out, Eve stopping in front of Ese. "I noticed you have nothing but a dress on," Eve stared, "So I'm going to give you some money. Please go buy more proper clothes." Eve handed Ese what seemed to be bills of paper with designs and numbers on them. Ese nodded and Eve followed Sven and left.

Ese laid out the money that Eve had given her. She still couldn't figure out how to use it. It was just paper.

She figured that she wasn't going to get anywhere with this attitude and she stuck the money in the pocket of her little dress. She walked and grabbed a jacket off of the rack, picked up her umbrella and opened the glass door. Below, in the street of people under the balcony, there was no sign of Train, Sven or Eve. They had disappeared. Opening her umbrella, Ese leapt from the balcony, her wings slowing her fall. The people below were gasping and staring at her as she made her graceful landing. She shrugged off their reaction and started to walk. Her eyes had to adjust to the brightness and as she started to look around, she noticed a soft, bright light climbing up from the east. She looked and sure enough, it was the sun. She stared and smiled, warmed by its heat and astonished by its bright beauty. She soon figured out how much it hurt to stare at the sun and she shot her head back and shook her head. Rubbing her eyes, she turned the other way and was walking up the street. Eve told her to buy clothes. Eve gave her the money. She had to obey, least Eve wouldn't be happy with her. Not that'd she would know if Eve was happy or not. The child showed no emotion.

Soon, Ese came to a store. Inside were just what she was looking for, clothes. She closed her umbrella and strolled in.

It was dark and smelled of lavender inside. A stout old woman stood behind a counter and looked almost surprised to see Ese come in.

"Excuse me," another, younger woman said, coming up to Ese, "I apologize, but no shoes, no service." She started to push Ese when the old woman chimed, "Oh hush, let her be." She scurried from behind the counter and grabbed Ese's wrist. "What can I do for you, young lady?" Ese reached into her pocket and handed the old lady the wad of money Eve gave her. "I'm here to buy clothes." She said.

The old woman smiled. "Then I will definitely help you. You came to the right place, do you know your size?" she asked, starting to walk to the back.

Ese shook her head no.

The woman sighed, "Oy," she started, "This is gonna take some time…"

3 hours later

The old woman generously supplied Ese with underwear and a mini wardrobe, plus a sleek pair of shades that Ese immediately propped on her head. Her new style was quick slick. She wore, instead of the blue dress and jacket, a u-neck black mid-drift, brown shorts that stopped about her thigh and a long, dark brown overcoat. Ese smiled at her reflection. The old woman was also kind enough to supply her with shoes, and which she chose two pair; one was sandals and the other, which she wore, were black boots. And every article of clothing was adjusted to fit Ese's extra appendages. All in all, she still had some money left.

Ese hugged the old woman. "Thank you." She said, "thank you."

The old woman hugged her back, "Oh no, thank you. You've been our first customer in awhile. Now hurry home, young lady." Ese smiled and nodded, walking out and waving. "Good bye, old woman," She said quietly and she turned to the sunny streets. Wincing, she pulled her shades in front of her eyes. She looked around the people to see a man walking. He was taller than the average people and he kept glancing behind his back in a nervous manner. Ese cocked her head; she recognized him from a paper Sven was looking at this morning.

She started towards him until she heard a scream; the man had grabbed a little girl and held a metal object, a gun, Ese guessed, to her head. He turned around to face his pursuers and roared, "Don't take another step or I blow another fucking hole in this broad's head!"

Ese turned to see the pursuers as well and she almost gasped to see it was Train and Eve. They froze as the crowd started to disperse. The man was taking steps back, "I mean it!" he kept shouting. Ese huffed and flapped upwards.

"Keep calm," Train started, "there's no need to bring in an innocent life. Just let her go."

Eve nodded.

"Fuck no, man! Fuck off!" the man roared in reply. The girl was struggling too much and was in the way of all the non-vital organs. If Train shot his arm, the bullet could go through and hurt the girl and if he shot his hand with the gun, his fingers could flinch. He grimaced at his situation…and then he saw a figure land abruptly behind the man.

Ese tapped his shoulder and he turned around and out of instinct, shot.

Shot Ese.

Shot **right **in the middle of her _head_…

Ese felt the pain strike her forehead and she flew back, her body flinging to the ground. She could hear Train scream out her name and a gasp come from Eve. But she wasn't dead. Not by a long shot.

Before any blood could possibly shoot out, she took a step and caught her body, stepping forward and flinging upward instead of down. Eyes flashing, fangs bared, she lurched up and punched the man hard square in the face. So hard, she could feel the skull beneath her knuckles crunch inward. Her abnormal strength sent the man flying backward, falling flat on his back. The girl scrambled up and took a frightful look at Ese, who had blood dripping all over her face, before running off screaming. Ese fell to her knees; while the bullet didn't kill her, it sure did hurt. Her head pounded as her wound burned…soon she felt the skin puckering as the bullet was being pushed out of its hole. In no time, the bullet fell out and fell to the ground, leaving a bloody hole in the middle of her head.

"Ese-chan!" Train exclaimed running and kneeling next to her. "Oh God, are you alright!? Are you alright!?" he kept asking. Ese held up a peace sign and smiled through her blood. "I am fine, Train-san." She confirmed.

"You…you…wh-…" Train managed. He was baffled that she survived a direct blow to her head and survived.

"W-what are you?" he asked.

Ese sighed. She didn't feel like talking, her head was aching quite sorely. She fell to the ground. She blacked out.

--

When she woke up, her head wasn't hurting anymore. All was quiet. She sat up and found herself in a bedroom with the west ward light fading into the horizon. Streams of orange and faded yellow were dancing in her window. She looked around and saw Train sitting in a chair, the back facing his belly and his head rested on the top of the back, right next to the bed.

"How are you feeling? You took quite a shot there, my friend."

Ese tapped the bandage on her head. It didn't even twinge. She removed the bandage as Train said, "Wait, no!" but to no avail. There was no blood. There was no wound. It was as if it had never happened.

He sat baffled at her now clear forehead. "I-Incredible!" he exclaimed. Ese smiled and gave the peace sign again. Train sighed and rubbed his head.

"Wings…a tail…found with no memory whatsoever and no recognition of your identity or your surroundings or back rounds…and now, can survive a bullet to the head and even heal at an abnormally fast rate…maybe you don't know, but I'm going to ask again," Train said, quite serious as his eyes stared at her like bullets. She gulped.

"Ese-chan…_just what are you_?"

--

Eek. How do you survive a bullet to the head? I don't know, but that's a nifty trick, I'd say. Wee for chapter three. Please remember to read and review, everyone!

-Rie


	4. Hit Four: Showdown at Lunafort Tower

**Author's note**: I do apologize about the timeline of the story being a little out of whack, but, the gang is in fact in Elsida, and it's the day after the carnival that Ese appeared. I know that the Lunafort tower does occur on the same night as the festival, but to fit Ese in, I made it a day later. Sorry for that, but I'll try to make everything else in order. Now read.

Train Heartnet and the Black Cat Series all copyrighted to Yabuki Kentaro.

Esperanza (My OC) is copyrighted to me.

--

**_Black Wings_**

--

Hit four- Showdown at Lunafort Tower

--

"I do not know," Ese said. "I do not know about my species, my back round or my health. I do apologize for that, Train-san."

Train sighed and grinned, all seriousness gone. "I know…I don't know why I keep asking. I'm sorry."

Ese nodded in apology. "I understand Train-san."

Train bit the side of his cheek as he stood up. "Well, I have somewhere to go…so…I guess I'll go on ahead."

Ese reached out for him. "Oh, where are you going?" she asked.

Train grinned, "Just out, don't worry. I'll be back."

He patted her hand and strolled out of the room, still grinning as he closed the door. She noticed the long black coat that followed after him. She had to investigate. She couldn't let him go. She had a definite bad feeling that quivered her feathers. She jumped out of bed and found her boots, which she thrust her feet into and found her coat. She almost ran out of her room and to the sliding door.

"Where are you going?" Sven asked, surprised.

Ese froze. "After Train-san," She said. "I feel worried." She murmured.

Sven was about to say something when she interrupted, "He saved my life. It's only natural that I return the favor and watch his, Sven. I don't remember feelings, but gratitude is starting to make itself known. Please do not stop me." Sven closed his mouth and instead said, "I'll pick you two up later." He mumbled and stepped out of the room. Sighing with relief, Ese jumped on the balcony and tugged on her jacket, fitting her wings through the jutted openings on the back. Once on, she leapt and opened her wings wide, flapping high and taking to the wind. She looked to the ground and saw a black speck walking. It was Train and she intended to follow him to wherever he went.

Hours seemed to past as she slowly flew…but there was a mist coming up and she had to land, which she did on rooftops. Train wasn't in her sight, but a big, brightly lit tower was. "Maybe…" she murmured to herself, as she leapt from top to top towards the tower. The last building she jumped to was the last one closest to the tower.

She looked at the tower; so far, it had to be the tallest thing she's ever seen so far in her life. She looked up and down and at the very top, she saw…people? Yes, although small, she saw a hint of a white coat and a man wearing it at the top of the building, looking out the window. As soon as she looked at him, her body almost went numb and a wave of fear rippled through her feathers and ruptured her body. Suddenly, oh so suddenly, she wanted to turn around and fly back to Sven but…her feeling of protecting Train was taking over a little more. She took a step forward. And another step; soon she was at the edge of the building.

She took a deep breath and leapt into the wind, stretching her wings and flying upward to the top of the tower. She swerved as to not get in the line of sight of the man that scared her by sight.

Before she knew, she was at the very top; the wind was so strong she had to snap her wings closed on her back and fall flat on the building as to not get blown away. Crawling, she made it to the window, on the far left side, where no one could see her little face appear through the corner of the large window. Ese noticed that Train was already inside. She also noticed that the window Train stood in front of was shattered, and next to Train stood a short figure with a woman in what appeared to be wearing a wig kneeled on the floor.

"Let the woman go, Creed," Train said in a low tone, "She's got nothing to do with this."

The man named Creed stood smiling at Train as if he'd seen an angel itself. "That's not possible," he started, "At least not until our conversation has ended properly."

Ese shivered; even his voice was creepy.

"I have nothing to say to you…" Train started, but abruptly stopped when he saw Creed…crying?

Ese rubbed her eyes and looked again. Yes, the man with the silver hair and dead on eyes was crying. Tears were streaming down his face. She stared. The woman on the floor stared. Train stared.

They were all thinking the same thing; what a weirdo.

"How I looked forward to the coming of this day," Creed said, still crying, "I suppose you don't know that I've been constantly searching for you these past two years…"

"What?!" Train hissed.

Creed smiled and continued, "Once…you were my partner… and the only person in the world who deserved my respect. That feeling has not changed at all since we parted…I've come to realize that I need you. Train…won't you join forces with me again?"

Train seemed quite surprised at Creed's accusations, Ese realized. She sighed at the cold wind gushing about and huddled her wings closer and settled to keep listening.

"…together," Creed continued, "Let's cause a revolution…on this planet…"

"Creed," Train hissed, his hand trembling in rage, "do you understand what you're saying?"

"What do you think of the world as it is now?" Creed asked in response. "As you know, 1/3 of the global economy is under Chronos's secret control. In other words, 1/3 of this planet is in the hands of those incompetent elders. Doesn't that bother you? Don't you want to try to demolish this status quo? Train!

"These past two years I've traveled to all corners of the world and gathered comrades who possess the power to bring about a revolution, and who agree to my thinking. And I created the ultimate group of fighters, surpassing even the Chronos Numbers…Chronos's prized elite force that you once belonged to!"

Train glared at creed and growled, "A group of fighters, surpassing even the Chronos Numbers? Those battle-crazy people with the same tattoo of time as me…? If what you say is true, then it's a threat to Chronos."

Chronos…Chronos…what is this Chronos Ese kept hearing about?

She almost slipped and to regain her balance, she smacked the window.

Her breath froze in her throat as she scrambled up out of view.

She sat on the top of the building, her hand on her chest, trying to calm her wildly beating heart.

"Isn't it?" Creed continued. She was glad she could still hear the conversation.

"On top of that, if you, who is said to be the strongest of the numbers, become my comrade, destroying Chronos, even turning this world upside down wouldn't be just a dream! How about it? Since you like making a big splash, I though you would want to join in…"

There was silence….then an 'hmph' from Train. He must be angry.

"Cut the crap," He hissed maliciously, "You're just blabbering on selfishly, you think you've got the right to say those things!?" Ese shivered; she's never heard such a deep tone, or one so evil, as Train's voice was now.

"Two years ago," He continued, "You betrayed me, your partner, and killed Saya!"

There was silence, and then Creed continued, "…Saya…? Oh…you mean that witch."

"After two years, you're still thinking about her? That vile woman who led you astray and tried to corrupt you…"

"Bastard!" Train barked.

Ese didn't hear anything until she heard a woman's voice shout, "All right!"

A body hit the floor and growled, "You picked the handcuffs!"

"Don't move!" The woman's voice shouted again. Ese figured that this was the woman who was kneeled on the floor next to the wrapped up person.

"Unless," The woman continued, "You want better circulation around your head? With all that cloth covering it, you must be hot. This may be small, but it packs a punch. Heh, heh…now the tables are turned."

Ese was quite surprised at the turn of the events and leaned forward to see what was going on. Sure enough, the woman stood over the clothed figure with a small gun in her hand, aimed at the figure's head.

"Train!" The woman shouted, "I don't know what's going on, but you don't need to worry about me. Now you should be able to do as you please!"

Train was surprised for a moment and then hissed, "Idiot! Look at your arm!"

"Ow!" The woman cried, and then she looked at her arm. "A…bee?"

She snapped around to hit it, but it just disappeared.

Ese lurched. She wanted to break inside as Train did, but she figured it would only cause trouble and thus, she remained where she was. Only if he was in immediate danger would she come inside.

"Bee manipulating puppet technique," The little clothed figure growled, "These are puppet bees. One of the types of insects that are formed by the ki of my body…Just now, the special nerve poison they secrete has been injected into your body. Your body is now under the control of Shiki the insect master!"

The woman stared curiously, until her arm convulsed and started to aim the gun in a different direction. "My…my arm…it's moving on it's own!?" she cried.

"Rins!" Train called, stepping forward as she continued to struggle with her arm.

He snapped his decorated gun up and aimed it.

"Don't move, Black Cat!" Shiki screamed.

Train froze.

"Accept Creed's request and become our comrade. If you don't, this woman will blow a hole in her own head."

"Y-you!!" Train managed out dumbfounded.

"Make him stop, Creed! I told you, the woman's got nothin' to do with it!"

In response, Creed murmured calmly, "Your weakness for women and children hasn't changed a bit. You're supposed to be the strongest, but that's your one biggest fault. Well that's why…I brought her here as a guest in the first place. Understand? I want to get a hold of you by any means. I don't care what sacrifices I have to make to do it. On top of that, I plan to grant you whatever you wish. Train, what is your wish? Give it a try; tell me."

"Let the woman go and fight me!" Train exclaimed, "That's what I came here for!"

"Fight you?" Creed asked, "I suppose your intention is to avenge that witch? Train, why don't you understand? I got rid of her for your sake. Oh well…I thought in time you'd return to your old self. But it seems I was a bit too optimistic. Okay…"

Creed grinned, "If I beat you in a one-on-one fight, then you join me and take part in the revolution. How does that sound?"

"Fine," Train hissed.

"There should be enough room up here," Creed explained, "honor your promise, Train. If I win this fight against you, you will join me."

"I'll tell you this," Train growled, "I intend to kill you, Creed."

"That's fine," Creed replied, "I'd rather not have to fight you, but…"

Creed flipped off his white coat and threw it to the floor, in his hand, grasping a sword wrapped in a loose cloth by a strip of cloth.

The only thing Ese could possibly think about was how badly she didn't want Train to be in there, about how she wanted him back at home and safe with Sven and Eve. Her feathers rippled at her discomfort and she felt tears sting her eyes. "D-don't…" she whispered softly.

"Once you understand that you can't beat me even when intended to kill me," Creed continued, "You'll realize it, between that witch and I… Which one of us was right that time…?"

Train held his gun in his hand, tensed and ready for battle. Earlier, he explained to the woman now known as Rinslet, that the numbness in her arm should disperse and that she should run as soon as she was okay. From what Ese saw from the window, Rinslet was leaning against a wall, looking at her arm, fine as ever. So, why didn't she run?

Creed tugged at the hilt of his sword, smiling at Train, who watched back with murderous intent.

Creed pulled out the hilt…but there was no blade.  
"…what are you planning, Creed?" Train asked, confused, "You're not gonna fight me with just the hilt, are ya?"

Creed smiled and brought the hilt close to his face, as to show off an invisible sword.

"…this may be the same sword, but…it's a bit different from two years ago, Train." In a swift motion, Creed picked up the hilt and made a slicing motion next to his body. On the floor there was the sound of a sword hitting the ground, loud and clear. Ese gasped and covered her mouth. This Creed had a blade, but neither Train nor even her eyes could see it. His blade was invisible.

From Creed's strike on the ground, a huge crack formed, "Imagine Blade," Creed started, bringing the invisible sword up in a stylish stance, "By visualizing and materializing my own ki, I succeeded in developing the power to create an invisible sword…"

Train took a step back and responded darkly, "You…not…Tao…"

"Yes," Creed responded with a smile, "This is the power of Tao, the ancient Chi Kung battle technique…I am not the same person I was long ago."

Creed took a step forward and struck the ground again with the tip of his blade. "Shall we begin? With this sword of the reborn me, the ghost of that vile witch that still remains in your heart…" Creed took a leap forward and threw his blade behind his head, ready to slice down the middle of Train. Ese winced and flinched at the fear of being sliced by an unseen force.

"…WILL BE CUT AWAY!" Creed screamed, the corners of his mouth curving into a wild smile. Train held up his gun as fast as humanly possible and fired, only to have his bullet stopped abruptly in the air by Creed's invisible blade.

Ese gasped again and then lost her balance and fell forward. She didn't screech, only fell and snapped her wings open, flying softly into the opening Train made a few hours earlier. Rinslet stared at her with horror in her face as Ese held her forefinger to her lips and whispered lowly, "Shush."

Meanwhile, Creed jumped forward and slashed in front, as Train jumped backward, however not fast enough; his skin broke and blood spewed from a sharp slice across his chest. He took a deep breath and suddenly realize that while the blade is imaginary, the pain was real and in desperation, almost, Train kept jumping back to get away from Creed. He stopped a few meters away and held his hand to his wound, feeling his warm blood ooze over his fingers; he applied pressure to make the bleeding stop.

"It's hard to dodge a blade you cannot see, isn't it?" Creed asked, "You should give up already. You cannot defeat me in your current state."

"Shut up!" Train retorted, snapping his gun back up and aiming. Creed's wicked, crazy smile returned as he exclaimed, "In your current corrupted and weakened state, there is no way you can kill me!"

In more desperation, Train pulled out a bomb which sent a blast outward more than inward. The wall gave way and smoke was billowing from the large hole, smoke screening Creed from Train. Train quickly ran in front of a pillar and held his gun up, panting tiredly and keeping his distance.

"You can't avoid my sword's swing, so you used a bomb to gain some distance. You always go to the extreme…" Creed murmured, looking at the blood the dripped in seemingly in mid-air on his blade.

Train was in a jam as he felt his strength deplete. Ese, being rather scared of loud noises, scurried deeper inside the building, hiding behind the pillar Train was leaning on to stay away from Creed. She kept her wings tightly closed to her back as so they wouldn't ruffle and send feathers everywhere…but there's always that one black feather that lands in the battle field…

Train saw it and sighed in almost defeat.

"However," Creed started again, "If you think you're safe from my sword at that distance, you're sadly mistaken, Train. Since this sword is made from my ki, it has no actual substance, therefore…"

Creed sliced forward and the pillar that Ese hid behind and Train was leaning on was sliced diagonally across, just a few inches above Train's head. "The length of my imagine blade can be changed at will," Creed continued, swinging his blade around. The complete middle half of the pillar fell next to them, proof of Creed's blade's danger. Ese shivered and was gasping hard…she never felt fear the same way she did until now. She curled her tail tightly around her leg and curled into a ball, like a ticking bomb, ready to explode and help Train when the time was needed. She just needed a few minutes to gather her courage…

"By the way," Creed continued, "with my ki at maximum output, this sword can be extended to about 80 meters. That means there's no where for you to run. Just give up and come with me, Train, and return to who you were before you met that woman—the all-powerful Black Cat! Having met 'that woman,' and having gained the weakness of kindness, the way you are now, it's impossible for you to win against me." Creed hissed, a crazy glaze covering his eyes.

Ese could feel his insanity radiating as she brought her head up from her curled ball state.

She could only hear the sound of Train's breathing and if she really listened, his heartbeat. His face showed no emotion and no plan of what to do next.

Ese then noticed Rins coming up from behind her, carrying a gun as well, and creeping about in the shadows. Ese paid no mind to her; her thoughts and focus were on Train.

Train stepped away from the pillar and in front of the gaping hole that let in the moonlight, right across from Creed. "Get ready, Creed," He growled, re-loading his gun with its usual 6 bullets, "It's about time we settled this. I'm gonna break that self-assured attitude of yours to pieces."

Creed's eyes widened with newfound curiosity. "Oooooh…?" he asked, "Are you saying that even in your corrupted state, you've found a good way to kill me?"

Train grinned and threw his gun in the air, catching it with his left hand, "Who the hell do you think I am?" He asked, "I'm the Black Cat, who brings bad luck to his enemies."

Ese cocked her head to the side. He switched his gun-hand…?

"Come to think of it," Creed stated calmly, "you did say long ago, 'nowadays I'm ambidextrous, but I was originally left handed…'" Creed smiled, "But, switching to your true dominant hand will increase your shooting speed and accuracy just a tiny bit, right? I don't think that's going to help you destroy my imagine blade…"

"You'll see," Train retorted quietly.

Creed cut into the ground once more with his blade and then brought it up to a stance, "How interesting," he started, "Well then, why don't you show me?" he asked just as Train brought up his gun.

Creed's composure lost itself and the wild grin returned, "Come on, Train!" he screamed, running forward as Train did, "Show me!!"

Creed's arm flung backwards and then forwards again in a hardcore swing, slashing straight for Train's chest again. However, just as Train was coming near Creed, he held his right hand up. Ese caught on before Creed did, or so she thought and she snapped her wings out and flew up. The motions were fast, and Creed's sword was faster than Ese's wings.

The invisible blade cut through cloth, flesh and bone and straight through Train's arm, hitting the barrel of his gun and revealing to Train, the invisible blade's location. He shot his gun, just as his arm fell from its original ligament, and Creed's sword, or the hilt as far as Ese could see, went flying away and out of Creed's hand. The blood started to spurt out of Train's now nub of an arm as he braced his stance at the on-coming pain. "**It's over, Creed**," He growled, "**You underestimated my resolve**." Despite his trembling, bleeding nub, he grinned and growled, "This'll be a big bang!" and swiftly brought his gun up and shot Creed square in the chest; the bullet seemed to explode and cause further damage. Blood spewed from Creed's mouth as he chocked on it and fell to the ground.

Train only stared in tired victory as the pain from his arm took hold of his body. Ese flew over to him as he was wobbly stepping backward to sit down. Before he could sit and take a rest, the ground, still weak from Train's earlier bomb extraordinaire, gave way in crumbles and was taking Train along with the falling boulders of the building.

"Train…!" Ese screamed, pumping her muscles to flap her wings faster. He was in mid air now, free falling; she went to grab him, only to be struck by a boulder to the back. She swiftly flew from under the boulder and flipped so her belly was facing up, only to find that she was lower than Train's location. She paused for only a minute as she was about to fly back up. It was then that two large pieces of debris, each with sharp, jagged tips, struck both of Ese's wings and gravity was dragging her to the ground. She kept screaming, "Train!!" even if it was futile. With the help of the heavy debris boulders and no help from air-resistance, Ese struck the ground with an earth-cracking thud, causing a small cracked crater to appear where her body landed. She felt blood in her mouth as she looked up anxiously and still saw Train falling in mid air. There was pain and warm blood as she struggled and kept screaming, held captive by debris of the fallen building. She looked up once more to see Rinslet jump for Train and grab him, then launch some sort of cord in the air and swing to the side of the building that wasn't fallen apart. Relief swept through Ese as she calmed, even through the pain in her feathers. She knew that she had to act and struggling around a little more, she concentrated hard on the boulders with her mind. Just as she killed the man on her first night in the outside world, or the man in the bar, the boulders started to convulse and then, blow into small pebbles. More relief flowed through her body as she rolled over onto her stomach and forced her body up on its hands and knees. Ese then heard Rinslet scream and her head jolted up. Sure enough, Train and Rinslet jumped from the building, now in midair. Train fired two gunshots, which launched Train and Rins into a clear passage to a pond. Even still, with many grunts and groans, Ese forced her wings to snap out and she jumped and flew after them. She wrapped both arms around them to ease the fall into the pond, which was exactly what she did. Once in the icy water, she grabbed Rins and Train, who she knew was armless, and started to paddle.

"Th-Thanks…" she heard him grunt.

They got to shore and Ese climbed out. Rins had fainted and Train was crouched, clutching his bleeding nub.

Ese crouched in front of him, her breathing shallow. That fall was quite a number on her body. "T-Train…" she mumbled before falling over and passing out as well.

She didn't even notice the footsteps closing in on them…

--

As Ese felt the streams of sunlight strike her face, her mind was a blur. She stiffly sat up in the bed, her whole body aching.

"Hey there," She heard Train say with a grin. She turned. He was in his usual seat next to what seemed to be her bed.

"Oy," Ese whispered, "What happened?"

Train sighed. "You fell from Lunafort Tower…with two boulders crunching your wings. We weren't quite sure on a doctor or a vet, but a doctor did the trick…you shouldn't use them until they're healed…and also, your back and neck were damaged from the fall."

It all came back to Ese in a flash and swiftly, she grabbed Train's right arm which, surprisingly, was back to normal, hand and all.

"H-how…" She started, but Train shushed her. "Listen," He whispered, "I'll explain later, but I'm worried about you and I think you need to rest." He smiled. "I think Rins is awake…so you go on and take it easy."

Ese nodded and laid back down in the bed as Train left the room.

"Creed," She growled lowly and angrily as the recent night's events played through her brain. Train's angry face made her boil.

"Creed," She growled again, "Consider yourself dead by my black wings."

--

Oy, the longest chapter yet! You didn't find out much about Ese except that she can sorta swim...I suppose...but more information will come soon.

Thanks for the reviews!

-Rie


	5. Hit Five: Bitter Beginnings

Sorry everyone, this is somewhat a filler chapter. Yeah, I know, boring, right? But it sorta reveals scraps of Ese's past and what you already know about Train. Yay for fluff.

Train Heartnet and the Black Cat Series all copyrighted to Yabuki Kentaro.

Esperanza (My OC) is copyrighted to me.

--

**_Black Wings_**

--

Hit five: Bitter beginnings

--

Ese sat up once again in her bed. She couldn't quite remember how long she'd been asleep, but she heard Train come in the room and she woke up immediately.

"Oops," Train said with a goofy grin, "Did I wake you up?" He asked. Ese shook her head no and she felt slight excitement at the two bottles of milk that Train held in his hand. He grinned and handed her a bottle, taking his usual spot in the chair next to the bed.

"Here," Train started, leaning over and opening her bottle, "So you don't have to gnaw on it later."

Ese smiled and murmured 'thanks' taking a sip of her milk.

Silence was rather unnerving between the two. It felt kindly strange and so Ese decided to ask Train a question…

"Train," She whispered, looking at her bandaged wrist, "I have something to ask…"

Train looked up curiously.

"What is it?" He asked almost innocently.

Ese kept her face straight as she slowly turned her neck, which was still a tad smart, and said darkly, "Who is the Black Cat?"

Train almost sucked up his air at the surprising question.

"Well…" he mumbled, scratching his head.

"And who is Saya? And who are the Chronos' Numbers?" she asked again and again.

Train sighed again and held up his hand, "alright, alright, I'll tell you."

He took a big gulp of his milk and set down the bottle.

"I wasn't always this cheery as I was…about two years ago, I was apart of an organization known as Chronos. I was an eraser."

Ese stared. "An eraser?"

Train winced, "a…killer."

Ese nodded unemotionally and let him continue.

"Anyway, I was number XIII, the Black Cat, of the Chronos numbers and, according to them and a few others; I was the world's best gunman." Train pulled at his collar and showed his tattoo, which was a branded Roman Numeral XIII on the collar bone. Instinctively, Ese reached back and touched her neck, where she could feel her own branded XIII.

"Anyway," Train continued, releasing the collar of his shirt, "I had been in Chronos since I was 15. Two years ago marked 6 years of being an assassin; however I was a Chronos number for a shorter time. Creed Diskenth was my partner for awhile…but he…changed suddenly and became what he was now."

Train let out a shuddered sigh as he continued.

"While in the organization, I met a woman named Saya Minatsuki. Like I am now, she was a sweeper." Train smiled.

Ese smiled at Train.

"Saya showed me what life was like without a chain…and I wanted to follow that lifestyle…so…I had decided to quit Chronos. But…"

Train bowed his head to hide his eyes. His fist started to tremble.

"On the night I was going to see a fireworks show with Saya, Chronos was keeping me in confinement. I didn't get to my apartment and get the note on time…I…" he kept trembling as his voice cracked and he murmured out, "Creed murdered her."

Ese could see it. She suddenly saw his memories in her head, flashing angrily and fast. She sat still and felt the wave of despair. She saw everything through his eyes. She saw Saya's bloody body mangled on the ground, she saw it all. She let out a yelp and hunched forward.

Train reached out for her, "Was that too much?" Train asked, concerned.

Ese shook her head no and grabbed his hand, tears falling involuntary from her face. "I…I saw it…" She whispered. "I saw…your memory…of Saya-san." She looked at him with those tears still flowing from her eyes.

"Train…" She whispered, "I'm so…so…sorry."

"You saw it?" He asked baffled.

Ese nodded sheepishly.

Train sighed and smiled, almost as if no sad experience happened.

"You're really something else, aren't you? I can only imagine what secrets are left to be unlocked in your brain."

Train gave her hand a squeeze.

"You still don't remember do you?" he asked.

Ese smiled a small bit.

"I do remember a little now…my mind drew back an ancient memory of when I was a child. Even as a child, I had my black wings and tail. My mother called me her lovely angel…and my father loved me as well. But my aunt and uncle…were a different story."

Ese leaned back up and closed her eyes, drawing back the memory her mind randomly dug up while she was resting. "My aunt and uncle were scientists and told my parents that I was a demon. That I was a danger to all society…I was six years old when they kidnapped me from my house. I was so young and only had downy feathers, so I couldn't fly yet. They wrapped me up and just threw me in the backseat of a large van. I remember driving for hours on end until they took me out and into their house. Downstairs was where it started. They allowed me no clothes. The first thing they did was chain me in a narrow room, with me to a wall and a cannon was at the other end. That was when the 'training' for my mind started. At certain velocities, they'd fire the cannon at me and see if I'd stop it. Most of the times, I had no idea what they were doing, so it would really just either hit my face or my chest. To them, it was testing. To me, it was undeniable torture to a little girl."

Train winced.

"And finally, the first time I blew up the cannon ball…and the cannon…was when they let me out of the room and allowed me a scrap of clothing." Ese sighed.

"So far," She murmured, "That's all I can specifically remember. I do know that I was dispatched to a larger facility sometime later in my life, but I'm not quite sure when or why…" she rubbed her head. "Maybe soon, I can find out."

"Damn," Train said, trying to cheer up the atmosphere that had settled, "You must've had it rough…I mean, I never believed in beatings when a child was bad, but that's ridiculous."

Ese smiled softly. "Do you have any parents?" She asked.

Train grinned, "Of course…but…" His smile fell "they were murdered when I was ten…and their murderer decided to raise me…it's safe to say that I was a little killer for most of my life."

The room fell quiet.

"Well," Train started again, gulping at his milk, "Look at us, just a couple of really fucked up people."

That made Ese laugh. "You're right, I suppose. Really messed up. A killer and a demon."

Train held his bottle up for a toast. "The best kind of partners, babe."

Ese smiled and learnt quickly of the meaning of a toast. "To the killer," She said, clacking her bottle against his.

"To the demon," He agreed, both bringing their bottle down and taking a nice, large gulp.

"We all have out bitter beginnings," Train said, wiping the milk from his upper lip, "but it's always up to us to change them into happy endings, right?"

Ese smiled. "I couldn't agree with you more."

--

Yaay for filler chapters! Again, I do apologize that it's so short but...it's a sort of revealer. They start moving along as the chapters come...remember to read and review! The more reviews, the more faster I update!

-Rie


	6. Hit Six: To Move On

Hey everybody; check out the title page I made for this story…

Title: rie-na-chan./art/Black-Wings-Title-85692188

Just copy an' paste, that's all.

Train Heartnet and the Black Cat Series all copyrighted to Yabuki Kentaro.

Esperanza (My OC) is copyrighted to me.

--

**_Black Wings_**

--

Hit six- To Move on

--

That next day, Sven announced that they were moving on to the next city. Train told Ese to pack whatever belongings she had and come with them.

"Why are we moving?" Ese asked.

Train smiled as he threw his bag in the trunk of Sven's small car, "Well, since we're sweepers, we move from town to town catching criminals. We can't just stay in one town, you know. And besides; where else can you go? It's not gonna kill you to come with us. I just hope you don't mind long car trips," he finished, grabbing her very small bag that consisted of just her clothes. He threw it into the trunk as well and finished his sentence, "'cause sometimes, the road just never seems to end."

Ese thought about it as she looked up and down the streets of Elsida. The town was small, but the little girl Eve told her that the world was big. Ese nodded as her mind made up, "Yes. I will go with Sven, Train and Eve."

Train grinned as he shut the door to the trunk. "Great! You can sit in the back with Eve." He said.

Ese nodded and looked up at the sky. It had been only three days since she 'woke up,' and she's learnt so much and is learning even more. The sun was bright in the sapphire sky and there were large, fluffy clouds lazing by, clustering by the wind and growing darker farther out.

"I smell rain," Ese murmured.

"That's not good," Sven said, coming out and smoking on what seemed to be a paper roll, "We're gonna have to get a move on. Everyone get in the car and let's go."

Eve got in the back and helped Ese enter the vehicle as well. Train sat in the front and Sven sat on the driver's side.

Ese was amazed at the car. "Train," She asked, "What is this called?"

Train chuckled, "This is a car." He said.

"How does it move?" she responded.

"Well," he started, "You have to insert the key into the ignition and then that starts the car…"

Sven plopped in the driver's seat and started the car, telling Train to shut up. Train merely chuckled. "Someone's in a bad mood," He started, noticing Sven's testy nature. Ese giggled softly and then fell silent as she looked out the window. The car was moving and the scenery of the Elsida streets were slowly moving away, disappearing behind them for a long time. They soon left the city and were on a long, winding road with no cities, just plains and trees and tall grass and even some mountains in the background.

"Train," Ese asked, very intrigued by this outside world, "What are those?" She asked, pointing at the mountains.

"Those are mountains," He stated, "They're really tall and mostly cold at the top."

"The largest mountain in the world is called Mt. Everest," Eve mumbled, her nose still in her book.

"What's beyond those mountains?" Ese asked, curious.

Train had to think, "I think there's another city.

"And beyond that?" Ese asked.

Train grinned, more than happy to oblige to help Ese understand the size of her now open world. "Beyond that city is probably another plain."

"And beyond that…?" She asked again.

"Beyond that plain is probably another city, and beyond that, another plain…it sorta keeps repeating until you get to the ocean," Train explained.

Ese was curious, "What's an ocean?"

"It's a body of water," Eve started, "That covers over 70 of the Earth." She explained.

"If we're near the ocean," Sven started, "then I'll take you to the beach to see it." Ese smiled; Sven never liked her much, but she felt that he was trying to warm up. "Really Sven-san?" she asked.

Sven grinned, "Of course."

Eve tapped Ese and grabbed her attention; Eve was showing her a picture of a beach. "That's a beach," She stated, "however, it's only a picture…" Even still, just like with the egg being her makeshift sun, this was her makeshift ocean. The picture did show a beach, but it had a beauty to it. The sun was setting in the background, flinging rays of orange and pink into the sky and turning the sky violet, blue and black. Ese was breathless as she looked at the picture.

"If you want to know about anything else," Eve continued, flipping through her book, "Go ahead and ask me. Ecology is actually quite interesting." She mumbled, flipping the page.

Ese smiled and hugged Eve, "Thank you," She murmured before going back to her window. As Train had said, there was really nothing but plains and trees.

As the hours past, Ese noticed something in the background with smoke billowing in the air. This object was long and was traveling fast. Alarmed, she tapped Train on the shoulder. "What's that, out there?" She asked.

Train grinned. "That's a train." He said.

Ese was now very confused. "But…" She started, looking at him in the rear-view mirror, "You're right here."

That gave everyone a good chuckle. Train smiled brilliantly, showing off his ivory teeth. "You're right; I am here. But my name is only Train. That's a locomotive, or a train, for short. It is two different things with the same name. Sorta like Christmas Eve; 'eve' means 'the night of,' but it's also the little princesses' name. Get it?"

Ese nodded. "So…that's a train…and you're the Train, right?" She asked.

Train nodded, "Yeah! That's it. I'm the Train," He said with a quiet chuckle.

They continued driving for a few more hours until Train shouted that there was a city up ahead. Sven smacked him and told him that while he had an eye patch, he could see that and his loud commentary wasn't necessary. Train laughed.

They reached the city within another forty five minutes. While they did leave Elsida to continue sweeping, the whole group was quite tired from their long trip and decided to resume tomorrow, thus they rented a hotel room. That night, the clouds from Elsida were rolling in dangerously. Sven sat at near his window, smoking a cigarette, grinning with pride that he out-drove the storm. He finished his puff and closed the window.

Ese was sitting in her hotel room, looking around. She was very tired from the trip and she wanted to sleep, but Eve told her to wait and take a bath. She then disappeared into the room next to Ese's and she finally came out wrapped in a long robe. "The bath is done," She said, "You should go on and take one. You'll feel better."

Ese grabbed Eve's arm, "Nn, how do I work it?" she asked.

Eve nodded and led her into the bathroom, "Well you do have to take all of your clothes off, and then you get into the water. You turn the water on with this handle and the more left you go, the hotter it becomes. But if you go all the way left, then the water's really, really hot." She explained.

Ese reached in the tub and turned on the water. "Like this?" She asked.

Eve nodded. "I'll go ahead and leave now," She said, and thus she left Ese. Ese figured out quickly how good a bath felt; her body tingled against the warm liquid and when she was covered in suds, her body tingled more. She felt fresh as she climbed out of the tub.

Ese found a long cloth on the sink and dried off. However, considering feathers aren't meant to be rubbed, she decided to let her wings dry out. One again nude, she stepped out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, drying her hair. Exhaustion was taking over her mind as she flopped onto her bed. The soft mattress felt good against her tense muscles. Her wings outstretched and she shook off some water droplets before folding them neatly across her back. She sighed once again in relaxation as the mattress started to form with her body.

As she dozed…a memory started to make its way known in her head…

_She could hear the raindrops drumming on the roof as she stood completely still in the living room. "Come here," She heard him command and obediently, she followed, down, down…until the light and drumming were gone. "Today's a test for her spine," He said to another woman, who nodded and checked off something on the clipboard. "Begin," said the woman, glaring at her through glasses._

_The man roughly grabbed her and held her down while the woman came from behind. She couldn't see anything. She struggled in their grasp, but to no avail. She knew about the large, plug-like needles that they were about to use…all too well as the woman shoved one up her back, right into the muscle of her wing. She screamed and struggled, her feathers scattering and her muscles tensing up. "Relax you," She demanded, "Or the next one will really hurt." _

_But she couldn't relax; the needle was deep into her muscle and touched her spine. The other one went in with no gentler cause. She screamed again as the woman left her and her partner on the platform. The man started to use even small needles and used her back as an outlet for them. He punctured smaller needles on each side of her spine all the way down to her waist. These didn't hurt as much and didn't puncture muscle, as the larger ones did. _

_Her wings were aching, but she dare not move unless she wanted the large needles to jerk. Sniffling, she begged for death._

_Her wish wasn't granted._

"_Shut her up," The woman said to the man. "I can't get a proper reading with those tears."_

_The man climbed back up onto the platform._

_And it was definitely the last thing he'd ever do. _

_She stopped crying and growled, a low, intense growl and just as she had blew up the cannonball, she grabbed him with her mind, concentrating on his neck. He gurgled something as his face began to turn a purplish color…her eyes were glowing red and were hot as she jerked her head and snapped his neck in two; in her rage, she ripped his head clean from its shoulders and threw both parts of the body on opposite sides of the room._

_There was absolute silence as she started to turn to the woman, who was now started to breathe hard and fast. "Oh God…oh no, oh please don't kill me."_

_A hiss escaped from her lips as her eyes glimmered in their fierce red state, "Relax," She growled, "or it'll hurt."_

_The room was suddenly filled with a scream as bones crunched and bodies ran cold. In the silence, with no sounds or life coming from her 'guardians,' she could hear the rain once again. It was faint, it was soft…but it was there._

_Very softly, she used her newfound power to pull out the needles from her back. As the last large plug fell to the floor, a sudden realization struck her conscience._

_What now?_

Ese shot up in her cold sweat. Her body was trembling and feathers were scattered all over the room. Thunder and lighting danced a rough mamba out in the sky as the rain kept a fierce beat for the celestial coupling. Panting, Ese rubbed her head, breathing hard and fast. Her heart was practically knocking on her rib cage and she couldn't see straight. She grabbed a tee shirt from her bag and some underwear and started to rub her arms to stop her shivering.

She stood in front of the window as another loud clap of thunder and a flash of lightning hit. Yelping, she ran out of her room, down the hall and into Train's room. Her shivering intensified as she stumbled to his bed. She saw his sleeping form and felt guilty for coming into his room. Thankfully though, his room had no windows, thus she sat down in a chair next to his bed and stared blankly.

"What's wrong?" he asked through closed eyes.

Ese jumped as his eyes opened and he looked up at her. Blush stained her face as an infatuating feeling took hold of her. Was he always that handsome? She shook her head and whispered, "I…had another memory."

Train sat up and the sheets fell from his shoulders. He was sleeping in pants and as the sheet fell, it exposed his sculpted chest. "You did?" He asked, curious, but still sleepy, "What's the matter then?"

Ese sighed, "It…was a nightmare." She started, "It was the memory of me killing my aunt and uncle…it was raining then too…"

Train stared at her for a minute and was about to say something when another harsh clap of thunder roared. Ese jumped and more feathers scattered as the shivering returned. Train cocked his head to the side, "Ese-chan," He asked, "Are you scared of that?"

Ese nodded and felt warm tears in her eyes. Showing your weakness is almost unnerving. She wiped away her tears as they returned with reinforcements.

The one thing Train didn't like was seeing a woman cry. In a slight panic, he reached forward and hugged her. "Calm down," He whispered. "It's alright, it's only thunder."

She nodded as her tears started to slow up and dry. She wrapped her arms around his chest and blushed at the skin contact.

Train pulled her from the seat, "If it'll make you feel better, sleep in here. There are no windows so there'll be no startling flashes…and I'll cover your head so the thunder isn't so scary," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her neck and getting comfortable.

Ese snuggled to the warm body next to her and sighed, the blush returning to her face. "Thank you," She mumbled as the sleep started to take over.

Train yawned himself and nodded sleepily, "No problem. Wake me up if you have another memory, a'ight?"

Ese nodded her head and snuggled to his chest. Relief and comfort mixed with sleep was dominant as she fell asleep encased in Train's arms. He was right; in his arms, the thunder wasn't scary at all.

--

Ese/Train fluff wee! Thanks for all of the reviews (even if it is around 10) it makes me happy to know people out there are reading.

So keep reviewing!

-Rie


	7. Hit Seven: Sweeping Resumes

Hey everybody! Sorry it's taken me so long to upload again…I hope you're all still reading.

):

I've been on vacation and I've had writer's block…and all of that jazz…

So here's a new chapter, fresh out of the oven.

Train Heartnet and the Black Cat series is copyrighted to Yabuki Kentaro-san.

Ese is copyrighted to me.

--

_**Black wings**_

--

Hit seven- Sweeping resumes

The next few days passed with ease. Ese hung around with Train and Eve as they scoped the town…Sven was always busy with something else. Before Ese knew it, it had been ten days since the Lunafort Tower incident. Over the course of the next ten days, Ese had been feeling a little weird when it came Train. She shrugged it off.

One morning, Eve and Train were quietly hanging out against a wall; Ese was high above them on a roof top. Eve was causally reading a book and Train just stood there.

He stepped back in surprise about something and Ese spotted Sven walking up, explaining something to them. She then traced his finger that he pointed at to two men coming out of a store. One was a tall, burly man with a buzz cut and the other was small, full of lank, was bald but covered his skin head with a ball cap. Ese spread her wings and felt the wind ruffle each individual feather. She loved the wind…she loved to fly. As the two men started walking, she slowly reached for the sky and started to fly.

Suddenly, Ese heard a shout, "Hey! We're sweepers! We're gonna catch you now!"

Looking down, she knew that it was Train who announced that.

The two appointed targets took one look at Train and made a run for it. Even from her height in the sky, Ese could feel Sven's rage; she looked down again and saw Train run after the targets and he was shortly followed by Eve.

Train ran through the crowds and Ese could see him pull out his Hades; the metal of the gun shone in the sunlight. He ran a few more paces and then stopped abruptly, kneeling and aiming with his gun. Ese decided to follow the targets.

She heard a gunshot and soon, the target with the buzz cut was down. He rolled a few on the ground and brought his head up, his eyes wide.

The lanky man pulled his gun and aimed at Train; at that moment, Eve jumped from the crowd and forced her two fists together and used the nano-machines to transform both of her hands into a large mallet. With it, she pounded in the head of the man of lank.

The bigger man who was shot with the gas bullet was wildly throwing punches; Ese tipped her body and closed her wings, stretching her legs out wide. She landed on the older man's head, her boot-clad feet pounding into his head and causing him to drop on the ground. She gave Train and Eve the thumbs up sign. "Targets captured."

Train trotted up to Eve and Ese and smiled. "Good job, Ese-chan." He said, giving her a wink. She shuttered and felt her heart react weirdly. She shrugged and smiled softly.

Train quickly tied up the culprits and kept them on the sidewalk as Sven came up. "Look!" he said, "Eve and Ese helped me catch them!" he said excitedly.

"OH?" Sven asked, his face formed into a tight, angry smile, "well, good for you…but Train, I've gotta tell you something."

"Yeah…?"

Sven then hit Train upside the head. "LISTEN TO ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

--

Sven told Ese, Train and Eve that he had to go through the collection process and to not cause a disturbance in the town. They all agreed and Eve headed off to the bookstore. Ese took to the skies, not bothering to see were her friends were headed off to. The clouds called her. As her muscles stretched out and the wind greeted her feathers, she noticed a dark figure on a nearby building. Curious, she glided gently over to the dark figure. He or she was hunched over and shuddering, like they were cold. Alarmed, Ese flew swiftly to the figure.

It was a big mistake on her part.

--

Train sighed as he sat on some steps, awaiting Sven's return with their bounty. He rubbed his sore face and muttered under his breath at how Sven didn't have to hit that hard. He looked up and noticed how the town had a lot of open-air stores. "Wow," He muttered, "I didn't notice them before." He silently stood up and shoving his hands in his pockets, casually walked over and caught a look or two. "I wonder," he started, "if there could be something for me to pick up, since the rewarding process might take awhile…" he was lost in his thoughts when he saw it. On a dummy, there was a floral yukata wrapped around it. His brain started to instantly think of her as a memory clicked back:

--

"_Oh this outfit…? I found it in a used clothing store in a town that I had visited awhile ago. It's a traditional clothing of a far-eastern style called a 'yukata.' Sure, it does stand out but I have a right to wear whatever I want!" She said, clasping her hands together…_

--

Train sighed as he looked at the yukata once again. He wanted to think of Saya some more, for his brain to slowly disintegrate into a stupor that would ease the sharp pains that he always felt when he thought of her. Just as her face came to the back of his eyelids, he heard an ear-shattering scream. Alarmed, he shot his head up to the skies and his heart stopped dead when he saw Ese shuddering around, twitching…and _falling._

"Train!" Sven suddenly called.

"NO time!" Train snapped back, running towards the direction in which she was falling as fast as his legs would carry him. Normally, he was a fast runner but with this crowd, he was quite slow. Plus, Ese had made it almost to the other side of the plaza he was in, so his heartbeat was ticking down the seconds, ticking down her fall. He wasn't going to make it.

He wasn't going to make it.

"ESE!!" he shouted as loud as his voice would carry.

He didn't make it.

A sharp thud and a loud crunch were heard as Train shuddered to a thundering stop.

--

It took her a few moments to realize that the sharp, screeching sound was her screaming. She didn't remember falling only landing. Her brain was hurting, like someone probed the inside of her head and didn't give her any sleep gas. Her arm made an unpleasant noise as she attempted to push herself up. The pain shot through her arm and up her shoulder as she decided that being pushed up could wait.

Before she fell, she clearly remembered the dark silhouette. As she approached him, she saw him smile and her mind was filled with horrifying thoughts and a very loud, very unpleasant sound that caused her to fall in the first place. Wherever she fell though, it was dark and stunk like the high-heavens. Unable to move, and not quite sure what to do, Ese started to cry, wailing loudly at her uncomfortable position and the pain she kept feeling in her body.

"Ese?" she heard Train's muffled call.

She wailed in response. "I'm here!" she cried.

"Ese, Ese, I'm going to get you out, okay? Just hang tight!" Train reassured.

Ese hiccupped and silenced her loud cries. She heard Train grunt over something and then a loud groan overhead was heard as the light flooded in. Train's face looked down on her as he lifted up the darkness. "Ese," he started, holding his free arm out, "grab onto my hand. I'll get you out of here. "

Ese didn't need to be told twice as she attempted to lift her arm again, only to immediately flinch it down out of pain. She let out a hoarse cry and remained still. Train sighed.  
"Are you alright?" he asked.

"My shoulder hurts." She responded. I can't move my arm. It hurts, Train, it hurts!" she started to cry again.

"Train?" Ese heard Sven call. "What happened?"

"Ese fell into a Dumpster." He explained. "I can't get her out…she says she can't move."

"I can get her out," Eve's quiet voice chirped. Ese saw her head bob as she jumped to where Train was standing. Train held open the top of the Dumpster as Eve's hair fell inside and wrapped around Ese's torso and legs and good arm. Very gently, Eve lifted Ese out, struggling a bit and turning to lay her down into a soft pile. Unfortunately, the softest pile was an old mattress covered in dust and sand, but this was an emergency and thus, Ese was laid down. As Ese's back met the mattress, she felt something probing out of her shoulder and felt the warm liquid ooze out of her back. As Train's, Eve's, and Sven's faces came into view, she noticed that they were bone-white and horrified.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sitting up. With her good arm, she reached and clutched her shoulder.

And she felt it.

Something punctured her shoulder…from the inside…and was jutting out of her back. Her fingers traced the broken bone and she looked up, just as horrified. She couldn't move her arm because the back bone of her arm was poking out of her back.

"Does…it hurt?" Train asked quietly. He was contemplating on taking her to the hospital, or taking her back to base.

"Yes." She said quietly. A loud click was heard and Ese flinched. Sucking in her breath, she forcibly pushed the bone back into her body and held her arm straight out as the bones and muscles started to click back into place. She winced and cringed, as did Train, Sven, and Eve, with every click and snap. After a few moments, she rolled her shoulders and popped her neck, and looked up at Train.

"You feel better?" Train forced. His was mortified at what just happened.

Ese looked around. She stared for a moment at Train and nodded. "I feel fine now." She moved her arm in response.

"But…" her eyes scanned the ground. They looked empty compared to the past few days…she looked hollow.

"Sven," She said, "I think I want to go home and lay down."

"I'll go with you," Train offered.

"No," Ese said firmly, "I just…want some time to myself…to think."

Train bit his lip and nodded. "Okay…I see then."

Sven handed Ese the key to their hotel room. "Alright then…well if you don't mind, while you're thinking, we're going to get something to eat…want something?"

Ese shook her head no.

"Alright…come on, Eve…Train." Sven said as he started to walk away. Obediently, Eve followed Sven and Ese stood up. She patted the dust off of her back and shoulders and sighed. She smelt horrible. "Well, enjoy your lunch." She whispered.

Train grabbed her arm.

Shocked, Ese turned and looked and saw his eyes smoldering, glaring at her with intensity that could scare the devil.

"You're not telling me something." He muttered under his breath.

"Wha…" Ese started,

"Drop the charade. What are you keeping secret?" Train stood up and looked at her again. "What memories did you see when you fell?"

--

How did Train know?

D;

Remember to read and review! I'll get more chapters out as soon as possible!


	8. Hit Eight: Rubeck City

I'm...back! :D

Thanks so much for the wait everybody! I'm sorry it was so long, but alas; my old computer crashed along with all of my BLaCK Wings files...and my backup hasn't came back but I'm starting again!

You are all awesome! Thanks for all of the reviews while I was gone; they were really appreciated~

Train Heartnet and the Black Cat series is copyrighted to Yabuki Kentaro-san.

Ese is copyrighted to me.

--

**_Black Wings_**

--

Hit Eight - Mental Problems and Rubeck City

"Tell me what memories you saw!" Train demanded. Ese stared fearfully as she tried to recall whatever memory she happened to have...all she can remember was the visions, the screaming...and that noise...

"Get..." Ese mumbled, tears brimming her eyes spontaneously.

Train stopped for a moment, suddenly seeing his harsh actions. He was about to ask again gently but Ese fell to her knees, grabbing her head and curling up.

"GET_ OUT_ OF MY HEAD!" She screamed painfully. She sounded as though she was being tortured...

As her screams continued, Train grabbed her by the shoulders, "Ese!" he cried, "What's wrong!? What is it!?" He kept asking.

"They're there...here...everywhere...OH NO!!" She broke away from Train and started to jerkily jolt around, her wings rocking and spewing feathers. All the while she kept holding her head tightly and didn't look up once. Her screams lurched from her throat, causing Train to flinch.

He couldn't figure anything to get her to stop screaming...until he noticed the gun in its halter...

"Ese, I'm so sorry!" he cried, yanking out Hades and jumping towards her...

...and her head made a loud crack as the hilt of Hades collided with her skull...

--

"Ese..."

A voice in the murkiness startled her. She wasn't sure where it was coming from, who or what it was coming from...she felt a throb in her head as she tried to focus.

"I think she's dead." Another voice in the dimness.

"She's not dead, she has a pulse," continued the third voice. Deep. Raspy. The voice of a smoker.

"S-sven?" Ese weakly croaked.

"Ah, see Eve?" Sven said with a grin, "She's awake."

"So she is alive..." Eve mumbled, cocking her head.

"Where am I?" Ese asked, sitting up and feeling a large welt on her forehead.

"Rubeck," Sven mumbled, taking out a cigarette and setting it on his lips, "You've been out for three days. We were worried sick about you."

"Th-three days?!" Ese asked, surprised. Even after the fall at Lunafort tower, she had been fine; up by the next day. Or even at the gunshot to the head; she was up 3 seconds afterward. So she gets hit in the head and she's out for three days? This confused her and added onto the pain that was already there. She moaned.

"Are you all right?" Sven asked, standing. "You want some medication? Ice?"

"Where's Train?" Ese asked, wincing.

"He's in the front," Eve mumbled, looking out the window, "We're getting ready to see a friend of Train-san."

Sven nodded. "While you were...out, we had gotten a request by the mayor to come to Rubeck and help...remove a murderer." Stress lines creased in Sven's tired-looking face.

"Friend...of...Train?" Ese asked, her head still pounding. "May I request to...stay here?"

For a strange reason, this brought out an unexpected response from Sven. "You...don't want to come with us?"

"Her head still hurts," Eve said, coming away from the window and standing next to Sven. "Doesn't it?"

Ese nodded. Her head hurt like the dickens...she didn't think she could deal with all of the information being dealt with in a mission.

Sven swiped a look from Ese to Eve and sighed. "Well..." he muttered, taking a small drag, "I suppose we'll head out...Ese, you take it easy? We'll be back in a few hours..."

Ese nodded again and laid back into her soft bed. She hadn't noticed, but she wasn't wearing her usual clothes; she was just wearing a cotton tank along with cotton shorts. Pajamas...she was very comfy. Sighing, she leaned back into the pillows and started to drift...

--

Maniacal laughter...that's all she heard. Scratching as the window was removed from its frame. Cracking as the wood heaved something...or someone...heavy.

Ese cracked her eyes open...her head was still pounding but she felt a sense of urgency.

The smell of testosterone from the night that she woke up and met Train was familiar in the room. The smell made her want to heave but seeing as she hadn't eaten anything in three days, that didn't seem possible...but she still knew that something wasn't right. The curtains weren't hanging; they were on the floor. Someone had ripped them off.

"What a pretty girlie..." She heard a man growl.

Focusing was a tedious task with the bump on her head, but this voice...was close. And dangerous. Suddenly everything became clear as crystal.

Someone was in her room.

She felt a sudden grip around her ankle and she then let loose a drum-shattering shriek of horror. She jumped and wildly flapped her wings, attempting escape. The grip yanked her down back on the bed and she kept screaming, despite the ache in her head.

"**QUIET**!" The voice bellowed, bringing his fist down on her back.

Ese felt a warm, thick liquid ooze from her mouth...blood...something was wrong. She couldn't feel her legs anymore. But nonetheless, she kept the struggle up, weaker however.

"Let...me...go!" Ese screamed, trying to squirm her upper torso away while whatever was wrong could heal.

"I said quiet!" The voice bellowed again, bringing his fist down once again on her back.

Only this time, the crack in her back went further...to her neck...and she felt it disconnect.

Her mind was alert for only a few more vital seconds as what just happened registered; her neck had been broken. And she was being kidnapped.

--

Thanks everyone! Sorry for the wait; here's a chappie to fill you in before the good stuff gets -a goin. ;)

I'm sorry that all of you had to wait for so long. D: Computer issues, so to speak...but I promise to get back on track ASAP!

So...enjoy the latest chapter!

-R-i-e!


	9. Hit Nine: Escaping Gyanza

So...when we last left Ese, she was being kidnapped...but alas! Her neck had also been broken! What will come of our heroine!? Read to find out!

Train Heartnet and the Black Cat series is copyrighted to Yabuki Kentaro-san.

Ese is copyrighted to me.

--

**_Black Wings_**

--

Hit Nine: Escaping Gyanza

More voices...Ese was really getting sick of being woken up this way.

When she felt her neck break, suddenly her wings went limp...and she remembered being carried away by a large, ape-like man, with large, round hair and a scary face. He jumped with ease through the window and carried her limp body about like a sack of garbage...

But once he set her down on the ground, her bones began to mend...not as quick as usual, but mend nonetheless. And once her back and neck were reconnected, she was going to punch his face in until brain matter spewed from his ears.

Where she was couldn't be predicted...she was in an unknown place and all she could smell was dirt and trees. And unfortunately, when her neck snapped she lost a bit of time and thus another mystery unraveled itself. Time and place, two forgotten elements for this kidnapped-ee.

Needless, the scary man was speaking to two other people; though her eyesight was somewhat blurred, she made out a small figure and a large top hat.

"You do understand the reason we've come here, right, Gyanza-san?" A cool, metallic voice asked.

"I know," a gruff, deep voice responded. Ese's captor; she recognized his voice despite the fact he was screaming at her earlier.

"You came to pick me up, right?" Gyaza continued. "Since we're comrades trying to wake up the revolution..."

"Right," The cool voice said in response. "The promise you made with us about two months ago...you haven't forgotten, right?"

There was a slight silence as words were chosen. Ese felt a click in her back as her hips rearranged themselves. The feeling in her wings came back...and she could now flex her fingers. She continued to lay stalk still and quiet as her back repaired itself...and once she had feeling back in her legs was when she would attack...

"If I recall," Gyanza started, "The promise that I would become allies with you if my strength awakens, right?" Gyanza was quiet for a moment. Another click occurred in Ese's back.

"Sorry," He continued, his voice growing gruffer, "But...can you make it so...that conversation never happened? Right now, I'm enjoying myself. Allying up with somebody isn't doing it for me."

"No way!" Ese heard a higher pitched voice, the voice of a girl, hiss, "What are you saying now!?"

"I changed my mind," Gyanza answered, "There's nothing you can do about it. But I do appreciate you guys; it's because of you that I got this invincible strength," he added with a chuckle. It didn't take Ese's special abilities to feel the anger that swirled around the room...and speaking of special abilities, the last click realigned her back and she had full use of her body again.

"Well, that's how it is. You're done right?" Gyanza continued, "Go away."

At this moment, Ese pushed herself up on her arms and sat up, stretching her wings back. She was behind Gyanza and in front of the other two persons. There was a man with long, blonde hair wearing sunglasses and a top hat and a little girl, no older than 18. Gyanza had stepped right in front of the girl and suddenly, Ese thought she was going to have to blow her cover to Gyanza sooner rather than later.

"If you don't, even if it's you guys..." Gyanza continued, "I can't guarantee your lives." He grabbed the girls face and leaned in closer, dropping his voice, "Right now," he growled, "I want to see pain in that cute face of yours, so much...that I'm tingly...You look like you'd cry with a nice voice," he finished with a chuckle.

The girl, who had remained calm throughout the threat, suddenly seemed...very angry. A small hiss escaped her lips and her eyebrows knotted together; she almost looked as though she was about to attack but then...

"There's nothing we can do," The top-hat man said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go home Kyoko-san."

"Eh? Bu-but!" Kyoko protested. "It's okay..." The man said with a nod, "Let's come again another day, until then," he turned to Gyanza and adjusted his glasses, "think about it and give me your answer one more time."

Ese swore that the man had seen her; his face made direct eye contact...but instead, he turned away, holding Kyoko by the arm and dragging her along.

Gyanza watched after them for awhile until turning to Ese. Shock crossed his face.

"Oh! So you're alive..." he said with a devious grin. "I thought I had killed you and I was going to crunch up your pretty little form..."

Ese gave a low hiss and snapped her wings out. "I don't die that easily," she growled, trying to seem dangerous if not deadly. Gyanzalicked his lips. "Oh really then..."

He lurched for her, stretching his huge arms out to grab her; but for once, Ese was prepared. Despite her lack of weaponry, she was faster and flew up before he could grab her and break her neck again. She somersaulted in the air and sticking her leg out, came down fast like a bird of prey, her ankle colliding with his overly-fat head.

Gyanza yelled out in pain and fell forward, giving Ese a grand time to make a quick getaway; she flew straight through the wall, breaking open a large hole and flopping angrily about. She hit the ground only to quickly scramble back up and run like she never ran before.

"YOU STUPID BITCH!" Gyanza screamed after her, coming out of the same hole she made, only making it bigger. Ese peeked behind her and panicked; he was fast. She started to dig her toes into the ground to thrust herself forward and make herself go faster. As her momentum started to max out, she started to pump her wings, tried to get air despite the lack of wind...she managed to get off of the ground.

And then she felt his hand grab hold of her ankle again, and she was flung onto the ground, dirt clouding up around her impact sight. This only slowed her down; she scrambled again and managed to get on her feet and run before he could grab her again. This time, Ese had a plan; she quickly jumped up and grabbed a slim tree by the trunk; because she was going so fast, the trunk bent in the direction of her jump, bringing her down as gravity took effect and the tree suddenly snapped back up, sending her flying back in the direction of Gyaaza. She sailed through the air with both fists pointing out; she was too quick to catch and she collided with his ribcage, feeling it cave in. He was down, though he was trying to get back up...Ese didn't want to wait around for that so she quickly scrambled off of him and ran once more towards the city.

--

It seemed like an eternity, but Ese was finally back in the city...although strange enough to her, the streets were bare. Not even the dead would come out...it was quiet. She continued walking, feeling uneasy about the silence. The mystery. She wondered where Train and the others were and hoped they were okay; they weren't 'invincible' and they were very fragile...

Ese was about to turn when suddenly, an arm wrapped around her neck. She was about to let loose a scream, but the other hand came and clamped her mouth shut.

"Esperanza..." She heard a very soft voice of a male whisper; he sounded relieved. Ese froze; only a handful of people called her by her full name.

"You are," The voice continued, "Vault number 22962-7854...Experiment number Thirteen: Black Wings." Swiftly she was twirled around to face her captor; a man with wild red hair and a black tattoo in the shape of a scar down his left eye. His amber eyes, almost like Train's, looked her over with an emotion Ese couldn't quite decipher.

"I am...vault number 22962-7855...Experiment number Fourteen..."

Ese gasped and practically stopped breathing.

"...Angel..."

--

;D

So...threw that one out there, did I? You love it. You know you do. The next chapter brings more scraps of Ese's past into view and has an introduction of Experiment 14! Read and review!


	10. Hit Ten: Truth Behind BLaCK Wings

Hi everybody! Yes, I'm still here; sorry it's been taking me so long to upload...just recently I've moved and now band camp has started and school is just down the road...but I won't let this fan-fiction die! I really want to finish it and I really appreciate all of the support I've gotten from the fans of this story (which...I'm still getting more and more.)

This chapter has a lot of loops and turns...I hope you can handle it. ;)

Esperanza (c) Me

Black Cat (c) Yabuki Kentaro

--

**_Black Wings_**

--

Hit ten: Truth behind BlaCK Wings and Deadly Fishing

Ese stared for what seemed like forever...another one like her...an experiment. Her brain couldn't wrap around this newfound information; this was Earth-moving to her. And the look in his eyes...so tender and soft, almost...like he worried about her. Like she was going to disappear from his arms. He seemed desperate to keep her near him, if that.

Very gently, the red head removed his hand from her mouth. She was quiet, due to the shock.

"Wh-who...who...are...you?" She managed. He smiled at her. "Hiro. I would doubt you remember me, Esperanza...it's been so long and you've undergone so much..."

"How do you know me?" She demanded, stepping back...yet despite her hostility, she felt...like she knew him. Like she could trust him. She continued to keep her guard up, needlessly.

Hiro smiled...but it look out of place, sad, almost. He looked at her with pained eyes. "We...I...was created for you. You, the most...special...woman in the world. The world's first natural born angel."

Ese gritted her teeth. "What are you saying?" she asked, her voice almost a growl. The things he was saying were scaring her. She didn't like it.

Hiro sighed again. "That blow to you head...just before you managed to escape...it must've caused some major memory damage..." he ignored her defensive position and stepped closer, leaning down and pressing his lips to her forehead. "I'm...relieved to see that it didn't leave a scar..."

Ese shook him off and took even more steps away from him, her face now flustered. "Explain yourself, now." She growled, "Or there will be major consequences."

Hiro chuckled. "That untamed streak is still there, I see...very well then...what, my love, would you like to know?"

For the first time since her 'awakening,' Ese was asked a question that she felt no one could possibly answer...and now that the opportunity presented itself, she was almost scared to ask.

But...she needed to know the truth.

"Who...am I? Where did I come from?" She practically held her breath as she awaited the answer.

Hiro took a deep breath...

"You are...Esperanza Morgana Vail. You were born in the far, far east...on an island known as Okinawa. You submitted to a top-secret facility known as MaRS after you slaughtered your aunt in uncle at the age of four." Hiro sighed. "You were the first child born with wings and a mental capacity that no one has ever seen. A child with psychic powers...a very special angel to the eyes of the scientists at MaRS. You were their thirteenth experiment; Black Wings. Their first successful experiment. They concluded that with certain genes and molecules, ultimate beings can be born..." His eyes dropped.

"They took your DNA when you were six...and injected it into an embryo about 2 months into maturity. Me. When I was born, I was...almost like you. A child with wings...as white as snow."

Ese gulped...she hadn't remembered any of this, not scientists, not any top-secret facilities...she almost wanted to faint, but she wanted to hear more...and the more she heard, the more she could tell Train...

"While you were being raised, scientists decided to do environmental study, meaning the study of you in your natural habitat...but as years went by, one deranged scientist who insisted on calling himself 'The Doctor' came by your file...and wanted to...dissect your brain to see where your psychic powers originated from. So the night he snuck into your room...was the night that I was released. I managed to save you before he could start anything...and that's...when I fell in love with you. It was then that I knew...you were for me...and I you."

Ese merely stared...she wasn't sure what love was. If it was something you fell into, could it possibly be dangerous? She wasn't sure...

"However...while I warded away the Doctor, his idea was seemingly stuck in the ideas of the scientists...they suddenly wanted to know too...and they would talk to me as you sleep...'Tomorrow...tomorrow we'll dissect Esperanza Vail...tomorrow...' But tomorrow never came...until a few days ago."

Hiro sighed and rubbed his forehead. It seemed like he had a headache but he cleared his throat and continued on.

"As you bathed, one of the scientists -- the one in charge of my division of specially injected embryos -- snatched you away to the furthermost wing where the most intense studies were...he wanted to submerge you in a liquid that would pretty much melt away your skin but keep your skeleton and insides intact. He prepared you quickly and sloppily; and when you were submerged, you opened your eyes and killed him...but you were still stuck inside. When I found you, your feathers were gone and your wings were replaced with two bones...and you couldn't see a thing. I managed to break you out in time before the infection could spread...but the moment you were out, you started healing at a steadfast rate...and within fifteen minutes, your wings were back to normal. It was then that not only we knew that you were special...you were immortal."

Ese looked down...that's why when she first opened her eyes, she was blind. She was still recovering from whatever liquid that was burning her skin off...and her eyes must've protected themselves subconsciously...it was making a lot of sense.

"But alas," Hiro continued, "a death in the facility couldn't be taken lightly...you were put to death that night. But I hadn't told anyone about your...healing rate. Or your immortality. I merely stood by and watched as they tied you up and pointed a gun with orihalcon bullets...your one weakness. You were shot in the head...which explains your memory loss. The one thing that makes you even somewhat mortal is orihalcon. At first, I was worried that you really were dead...but just recently, there was a news report about Lunafort Tower. The report showed a camera shot of you flying up to rescue the two people who had fallen out. And the scene was covered with your feathers...and it was then I knew that you were alive."

Hiro took another step towards her, but this time, Ese stood stalk still. Her mind was racing. She wasn't sure how she could have had so much happen and yet not remember it at all...she was about to ask another question when a familiar voice shouted, "Stop right there! Let the girl go!"

At first, Ese thought the statement was being directed at her, but when she looked, she noticed no one was there...meaning...

"Eve-chan!" she gasped, turning to run...but Hiro caught her on the arm. "Remember..." he started, "It's impossible for you to co-exist with humans...because you aren't one of them."

Ese shrugged him off. "As of now, I'm not longer the 'ultimate being' you spoke of. I'm just Ese." And she turned and ran.

Hiro sighed...and started to glow as a pair of pear-white wings unfolded from his back. "Until we meet again...Esperanza..." He jumped into the air and disappeared.

--

Ese ran down the street and as she turned a corner saw Gyanza's upper torso planted in the street. In his large, obelisk hand was little Eve, frozen with fear. Gyanza stepped from the hole in the street, still holding Eve and grinning like a madman...Ese saw Sven on the other side, holding a gun to him.

"You're not a cop, huh? What are you?" Gyanza asked, his grinning stature falling to confusion.

Sven grunted, "A sweeper." Ese unfolded their wings to their full extent and was prepared to launch off and give Gyanza the proper beating from earlier.

"What?! Ha! Even those types are after me? Which means...there's a bounty on my head. How much is it?" Gyanza asked, somewhat amused. Sven growled and said through his gritted teeth, "I said...let the girl go."

Gyanza merely stared at Sven and brought his other hand to Eve's forehead. "I say...no." And with his non-human strength, he flicked Eve in the forehead, causing her to practically bend backward with blood spurting from the spot. That was Ese's cue. She reared up and flew for his head, wrapping her arms around his fat neck and thrashing wildly.

"What the hell!?" Gyanza shouted, twisting his head about trying to get Ese off.

"**Let Eve go now, Dammit**!" a voice called from the sky. Ese looked up and saw Train falling, shooting his gun. Gyanza's arm froze as a bullet made contact, and Eve fell from his arm; Ese quickly released herself and grabbed Eve, running behind Sven. As she looked, the bullet that was supposed to penatrate his skin merely bounced off Gyanza's muscle.

"So..." Gyanza started, "There was one more, eh..." He looked up at Train's falling form and took a stance that looked like he was about to send Train on a one-way airline ticket. He stepped back with his fist clenched. "That hurt a little bit!" he called out, punching in Train's direction. Train, thinking fast threw up his gun to protect him from Gyanza's strike, but from the look on his face, it was still a strong blow. Train was sent flying into a wall of the building he was on.

"Train!" Sven cried. Train fell out of the wall with rocks and dust after him. "Damn," he started, "No wonder the cops couldn't take him." Train mumbled, trying to push himself back up. Ese was so concerned with Train, she didn't see Gyanza's swift movement...and he was behind Sven.

"_Look out_!" She screamed. Sven turned quickly and had his gun up, but Gyanza struck it with his hand and it was sent into the air in pieces. Sven could only stare, dumbfounded. But Gyanza didn't attack again...

"Hm? You...come to think of it, you look familiar...that eye patch...that's it!" Sven looked bone white as the realization crossed Gyanza's face, "The guy that threw me in the slammer back then...the IBI agent! What a surprise...never thought I'd bump into you again in a place like this..."

Gyanza lifted his arm and to the shock of all three of them, his arm started to grow larger. "_I was gonna pay you back someday...with this power...heh_."

Ese was surprised at Sven's composure. "Gyanza," he started, "that power is...'tao,' isn't it? How did you get it?"

Now a little bigger around the shoulders and in the arms, Gyanza stared at Sven and grinned. "Heh, you're good. You know about the power." But in a swift movement, Gyanza was about to strike Sven as he shouted, "**If you can catch me again, I'll tell you!**"

Ese flinched to move but Gyanza's arm blew up. Sven took a step back and Gyanza stood shocked. His eyes trailed and there, a few feet away still crouching, still with gun in hand, was Train. But when Gyanza turned to look at him, Train's complexion went from soft peach to bone white. The only damage that the burst bullet caused was a slight chunk of skin ripped off and a little pool of blood coming from his arm.

'_You're kidding_.' Ese thought.

--

Don't forget to read and review people. I'm getting to the really good parts in the manga. And PS; Hiro is (c) to my good friend, Katrine! Hope you all enjoyed!


	11. Hit Eleven: Vision Eye

It's me again! I've just recently been very inspired to keep writing chapters. ^^ I hope you keep reading them, though. ;

In any case, I'm kinda getting sick of Gyanza. xD; I really don't like him and how long it takes for Train and co to beat him. D: But oh well...I hope you all can still enjoy anyway.

Black Cat (c) Yabuki Kentaro

Ese (c) Me

Hiro (c) Katrine

--

**_Black Wings_**

--

Hit Eleven: Vision Eye

Strangely, even though it took a burst bullet to finally draw blood, Gyanza ran off, under the sewers. Not that Ese was complaining but she figured he'd want to stick around to knock Train some before leaving, but he ran off as quickly as he could. Sven came over to her and Eve and kneeled down. "How is she doing?"

Ese looked her over...she could still hear her heart beat, smell her blood..."She's fine. That flick really didn't do any damage except to her forehead...no broken bones."

Sven sighed as relief crossed his face. Train kept his distance from the three of them...

"Eve," Sven called, "Hey! Eve!"

Eve groaned out a little and rolled over to open her eyes. "Huh?"

"You okay?" Sven asked.

"Oh...Sven...where is he?"

"He went down that hole..." Train started, "he's hiding underground again. That bastard...as soon as he got hurt, he got all cautious. He's probably planning on using the sewers to attack us from below...be careful."

It was strange, but it seemed that Train was only talking to Sven and Eve. She was about to say something but he started to talk again. "What now, Sven? With Eve to worry about, the situation's a bit complicated."

Sven wiped off the blood on Eve's forehead and Ese held her up to a sitting position. "I know that." Sven said, grabbing his eye patch. He started to pull it off...

"The time to get carried away is over, Gyanza," He growled as his right eye was exposed to Ese. She stared, very intrigued...his right eye was a lime yellow in color and the pupil was very faint.

"Sven..." she asked, "Why is your right eye so different from your left?"

Sven gave a tight smile; "it's...special. My vision eye."

Ese wanted to know more, but once again Train started to talk. "It's been awhile, Sven, since you've had to use your right eye..."

Accordingly, Eve was just as shocked as Ese was. Both girls stared at him in amazement; a vision eye seemed like a gift that was almost impossible to be born with.

"Sven-san's special too..." Ese murmured under her breath.

Eve stood up, but a sudden tremor had her back down on the ground again. "Th-the ground...?!"

The tremor got worse as the ground's shaking increased. "Sven! Aren't you ready yet!?" Train hissed, turning to his partner. Sven was standing still, keeping his balance and composure. "...be patient. This ain't easy."

Ese felt a strange aura flow off from Sven...like something was concocting within his body. The feeling was strange but needlessly, if it was going to help she wasn't going to complain about it. Without even turning to look, Sven suddenly shouted, "Train, jump back!" Obediently, Train jumped and just as he did, a huge, monstrous arm blew out from the ground. Ese stood up and stepped back; no way could that be Gyanza's arm...but to her horror, it was. Train flipped in the air, and landed, gracefully, on his feet sliding. He crouched and grinned, "Heh! All right!" Quickly he brought up his gun. But before he could shoot, Gyanza was back underground again.

"Bastard!" Train shouted, "How 'bout I throw a bomb down the hole!?"

"Don't," Sven started, "he's got plenty of places to hide in the sewers. If we're not careful, he'll get away. Anyway, what kind of bullet were you gonna use just now?"

"Huh?" Train replied, "The burst, why?"

"The burst's no good. It won't do much damage against his armor of muscles..."

Ese nodded, "And it looks as if he's gotten bigger," she added. Train scoffed, muttering 'no one asked you,' under his breath.

"Instead of using a bullet to knock him down," Sven continued, "you should use one to immobilize him. In all of those special bullets I gave you, there should be one with a blue tip."

"...yeah." Train mumbled.

The ground started to tremble again, getting rougher. Sven sighed and opened his right eye. "It's pointless, Gyanza. I can already see you with...my vision eye."

The ground gave upward as Gyanza popped out for a swing; needlessly, because of Sven's 'vision,' he missed.

"The right eye of mine is a cornea transplant...from a clairvoyant, a close friend, who died...though it's only a few seconds ahead, I can glimpse the world where time has passed."

Ese gasped; that's the power of the right eye. He can see a few seconds into the future.

"What nonsense..." Gyanza grumbled, his maddened face lolling at Sven. He had gotten much, much bigger, looking like a monster from one of Eve's story books. Before he could turn on Eve, Sven and Ese, Train held up his gun.

Gyanza grinned, "You gonna shoot those bullets? Go ahead. Shoot." His crazed laughter filled the empty air as he continued, "Even if this arm gets cut off, as long as I have my other arm, I can still rip you guys into pieces!"

Gyanza swung around quickly, his fist in the air, ready to hit Sven and Eve. Ese crouched and barrel-rolled to get out of the way as Sven, holding Eve, dodged the attack. Eve clung to Sven, terrified, but he only said to her, "Don't worry, Eve...I can already see his defeat."

A bullet suddenly struck Gyanza and ice started to spread all over his arm. He fell to the ground, screaming, "My body's freezing! What the hell is this!?"

"If you keep trying to move," Train said, walking calmly to the shrinking convict, "you'll shatter your body. 'Cause that's compressed liquid nitrogen. Think of it as the vengeance of all the people you killed!"

Gyanza groaned and laid down on the lip of the hole he made. Sven sighed and smiled, setting Eve down. "So that's cleaned up...your wound's okay, Eve?" he asked the little girl.

Eve touched the mark on her forehead and nodded, "Fine..."

Sven sighed once again, "oh...good." And collapsed. "Sven!?" Eve cried, taking a step towards him. Train walked up to him, grinning, "Sure...go ahead an' rest easy." Sven barely nodded and sat up to wrap his eye back up in the eye patch, only to slump right back down on the ground. "Sven!" Eve called. "It's okay, little princess," Train continued, "using his right eye uses up a bunch of his body's strength. After he uses it, he sleeps for 6 or 7 hours so he can recover...that's why he doesn't normally use it." Ese stood up to walk to Train, but a girl suddenly appeared. "Awesome," She said. "You're so cool to beat a Tao user with just a gun."

Ese gasped...she knew that girl. It was the girl...Kyoko, that was talking to Gyanza earlier. "Hello there," She said when Train turned to look at her.

"This guy makes me sick," she continued, "since you've taken care of him, I feel much cleaner." She was walking towards Train with a strange look in her eye. Ese started to walk over to the two. Kyoko grabbed Train's face and puckered her lips, "So...here's your thank-you kiss..."

Ese made it and smacked the girl in the head, standing between her and Train. "Leave him alone," she growled, hiding him with her wings. "He doesn't need a thank you. He did it for the bounty money, not for you, you wench."

Kyoko rubbed her head where Ese hit her. "W-what's that for!?"

Train pulled down Ese's wing, "That's my line...with you suddenly appearing out of nowhere. What are you," He stepped in front of Ese, which made her mad but she allowed it, with a close eye on Train. "How do you know about Tao?"

A flash of black appeared next to Kyoko, "The ones that Gyaanza legit received his 'Tao' powers from...were us." Ese stared as the top-hat man was standing next to Kyoko, taking off his hat and bowing. "How do you do, Black Cat. We are members of the revolutionary army commanded by Creed Diskens...'The Apostles of the Stars." At the sound of Creed's name, Ese hissed and fluttered her feathers, her eyes staring to burn. She considered killing the two who worked with Creed but if she did, Train might scold her...so she stayed quiet and mentally imagined breaking them in half.

The top-hat man saw Ese's rage and stood back up, "Oh no, please don't misunderstand," he replaced the hat back to his head, "The reason we came wasn't because we have any business with you."

"What!?" Train hissed.

"Just..." The top-hat man continued, "I think we're here to confirm that his death is close at hand." He finished, looking at Gyanza.

Suddenly, Gyanza stood up, despite being frozen. "Wha-what the hell?! M-my body's shri-shrinking..." Surely enough, any source of fat or muscle was slowly shrinking, exposing bones and joints. Ese stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"You used too much power, Gyanza," Top hat continued, "When you use 'Tao,' the energy source you use is 'ki,' or soul...the power that keeps a person alive."

Gyanza started to flip, screaming and staring at his shrinking hands. His eye bulged, but Top-Hat continued on, "Since you ignored what we taught you and continued, day after day, to consume your strength...it's no wonder you've hit the bottom."

Gyanza screamed again, his body shrinking to the mere size of a skeleton; Ese thought it looked like someone pulled hide over a pile of bones.

"What awaits an old man who used up his life force," Kyoko said with a mischievous grin, "Is death."

Gyanza's eyes went blank and he fell forward, making a slight thud as his body hit the ground. Ese couldn't hear a heartbeat.

Eve turned to look at the dead body, looking a little sick.

The Top-Hat man continued to talk; "'Tao grants absolute power, but on the other hand, if it's misused, you invite upon yourself ruin...I thought he had been given that general knowledge.

"It seems that he didn't meet the requirement to become one of us from the very start." He finished.

A sudden noise caught Ese's attention. It sounded like wailing, not from a human, but from a machine, almost. Ese started to look around, wanting to find the noise.

"It appears that the police heard the commotion. We shall go...we have no more business in this town..." The man in the top hat finished.

Before he left, however, he turned to Train once more, "Black Cat, even if you are third-rate, since you beat a Tao-user, we will remember you."

Train scoffed, "You're arrogant."

The duo turned again, and merely disappeared into two flashes.

Ese was about to sit, but she figured that the party was about to move so she continued to stand. All she really wanted right now was to lay down on a surface that wasn't rock, that wasn't dirt and to put something cold against her still-aching head. She probably wouldn't have someone hovering over her to worry about, considering the only person who has was Train and it was rather apparent that he was ignoring her.

"The...bad guy...is dead?" Eve asked, standing up. Train turned to look at the little girl, nodding. "Yeah..." he muttered. "Well...we'll leave this scene to the police. Let's get back to the hotel; Sven needs to take it easy for awhile."

Eve nodded, looking very glum, very worried about Sven. "You're right."

--

Sven was practically dead to the world on the couch. He slept peacefully, his hat resting on his head. Train dragged him in, but couldn't get him in the bedroom so he just merely laid him on the couch. Ese was sitting in the windowsill (although it was somewhat a tight fit...) "What's wrong, Princess?" Train asked Eve on the roof (Ese was listening quietly next to the window), "Why the long face?"

"I was thinking that...I was no use at all." Eve responded quietly. "Huh?" Train asked in return. "When the bad guy caught me...I may have been able to manage something if I used the transformation ability...but I was scared. My mind went completely blank...and I couldn't do a thing."

Ese heard silence. She too didn't do anything to help. Her little 'scuffle' barely made Gyanza flinch. A strange stinging feeling came to her eyes and her vision blurred...what was this? She wasn't sure...

"In the end," Eve continued, "I had to be protected by Sven...maybe...I don't have the talent...to be a sweeper."

"Ha! Ha ha..." Train laughed, "We warned you, a decoy's job is scary."

Ese was sick of hearing their conversation...she felt sick. She wanted Train to come and comfort her as he was doing Eve...but it looked as though he wouldn't do that. She reached out and closed the window, curling up into a tighter ball. Her blurred vision cleared a little when a tiny, warm drop brimmed over her eye and rolled down her cheek. Her nose became runny and she sniffed, as more and more warm droplets started to uncontrollably roll down her face. She hiccupped, and started to wail a little; she couldn't figure out this feeling, all she knew was that she felt lousy.

"E-Ese," Sven mumbled, sitting up. His hat fell from his face. "Wh-what's...wrong?" He continued, sleepily rubbing his eye.

Ese stared at Sven, worried that she woke up but instead, "I...I think...Train hates me."

--

0_________O;

So.

Ese's crying for the first time since she's awoken and she doesn't even know wtf it is. __________

-insert dramatic soap opera music here-

So...planning to skip a head in the chapter I'm currently on in Black Cat. xD; I'm so SICK of Rubeck City! D:

So...thanks for reading. ^_________^


	12. Hit Twelve: End of Lubha

So...JA. Um. I'm back again. ^__________^;

And a quick author's note: THE CITY IS LUBHA, NOT RUBECK. o________o

And...there's about...185 consecutive chapters in the Black Cat Manga (plus scenes from the anime I'd like to somehow incorporate in there) so...this story will be broken up into however many parts (the worst would be 5 parts, each with 35 chapters each o_________o) So in your reviews, tell me how you think I should divide the parts up. I'd really like to hear some of your comments! =3

And another thing; School is starting in about two weeks...so I'm trying to get as many chapters as I can uploaded. o_________o; I'm not sure how much I'll be able to get done once school starts! (Since I'm in band and all) ...sigh. I'll figure out a way. ^________^

Enjoy the chappie!

Black Cat (c) Yabuki Kentaro

Ese (c) Me

Hiro (c) Katrine

--

**_Black Wings_**

--

Hit Twelve: End of Lubha

Sven sat all the way up, somewhat alarmed by Ese's words. "Wait...what?"

Ese sniffled again and wiped the bottom of her chin off with her sleeve. "T-Train hates me." She gave a hiccup and a small wail again as more tears followed.

Sven sighed and stood up, waling over to her. "I-I don't think he hates you..." He muttered.

"He didn't even care that I broke my neck and was kidnapped by a crazed killer, that I found out where I came from and who I am and-"

"Freeze." Eve said suddenly. Ese stopped talking, but her tears wouldn't stop. Sven looked at Eve. "You should be resting," Eve said, looking at Sven.

Sven grinned, "I probably should...but it wouldn't be chivalrous of me to just leave her to cry."

Cry? Is that what was wrong with her eyes? She'd assumed her body had spontaneously sprung a leak.

Eve looked at Ese. "Why are you crying." Though it was probably supposed to be a question, to Ese it sounded more like a demand. She sniffled once more and shook her head. "No reason, I suppose...it's silly." Ese stood up and started to walk into a different room, but Eve matched her pace and stood in front of her.

"I read a book that people cry when they're sad." She said, "Why are you sad?"

Ese stared at Eve. "S-Sad?" she asked, "I'm not quite sure what that is."

Eve tilted her head a bit. "Sad...is when you're feeling low. Grief. Unhappiness."

Ese continued to stare. She hadn't a clue what any of those words meant. She twirled around and marched towards the window, quickly getting there and opening it.

"Do not leave," Eve said, practically right behind her, "Train has not come back yet."

Ese sighed, feeling another ache in her chest, though the pain was more intense than the pain when she first woke up, when she was shot in the head, and when her neck was broken. Her head was aching terribly and she wanted air. "If I'm right about what I know," she started, "Train won't care that I'm gone." The evening air blew and Ese spread her wings and took off, flying high into the sky. The ground became nothing but some blotted lights. And it only became even more blotted because more tears were forming; she couldn't figure out why she kept crying, but she knew it was from the way that Train treated her earlier; no care. No concern. Just like when she was experimented on. Like when she was a test subject. At the moment, she could remember the pain when her branded XIII was burned into the back of her neck; or the pain of having her wings burnt off. Or even the pain...of knowing that no one was out there to love you. As she flew, high above the clouds, she could remember all of the pain she felt while at the MaRS institute. And even though the pain she felt there was bad...this felt worse. She couldn't really handle it any more...she started to descend. And the moment she touched ground, she grabbed both sides of her head and screamed at the top of her lungs.

The noise was rough, and sounded awful; like a rake being dragged across a chalkboard. The noise that came out of her throat sounded...demonic.

A soft touch on her shoulder was what made her stop.

"I recognize that sound," the voice of Hiro murmured, "I remember you making it quite often when you were distressed."

Ese turned to see him standing there, only slightly altered; before, he seemed almost human. Now, he had two pearl-white wings folded neatly at the arches, resting on his back.

"H-how..." she asked, her voice now rough with the screaming she just mustered.

Hiro smiled. "I will them into place. They can disappear into my body until I need them...it helps me seem...more normal."

Ese stared at her own wings. "C-can I...do that?" she asked, tired.

Hiro shook his head. "You were blessed with your wings...they are a part of you. They will always be a part of you."

Ese sighed...perhaps if she could 'will away' her wings like Hiro could, she could pass for normal. But...she never could be normal. Never. She was a freak, a monster.

"Hiro," Ese muttered, looking down, "What is...being sad?"

Hiro stared at her for a long moment, his amber eyes, so much like the man that caused the ache in her chest...

"Sadness...is knowing that somewhere, someone or something is hurting you."

Hurt. That's a word that Ese knew. Eve's description of sadness was confusing, but Hiro's was something she could relate with.

"What's wrong...why are you sad?" Hiro asked gently. Ese shook her head, "I...can't figure out why I am...sad."

Hiro smiled and pulled her closer to him, pressing his lips against her forehead. "Please don't cry...you aren't as beautiful when you cry." Ese's heart skipped a beat as Hiro's words sunk in. Beautiful? She only heard that word when Sven has found a good bounty or when Train has found a pile of food. She's never heard it applied to a person, especially not herself.

"Hiro..." Ese asked, looking up at him. "Why are you here?"

Hiro smiled again, "I told you, I'm here for one reason, and one reason alone. To be with you."

Ese merely stared, almost stupidly. Hiro chuckled and continued, "And...I heard you crying. This angel shouldn't have to cry...you have the greatest gift in the world and now, freedom to use that gift. You truly are now, a free angel."

Hiro started to lean down, closer to Ese's face. Ese wanted to back away, but he kept her close, as his face drew even near...and then his lips pressed to hers...

--

When Ese woke up, she was in the hotel, on the couch. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows. Eve sat quietly on a char and read her book. Sven was humming as he cooked in the kitchen...a fairly normal start to the day, only Train was gone and Ese had no idea how she got back to the hotel...she faintly remembered screaming last night but everything was blurry afterwards.

"There's something for you..." Eve murmured, turning a page in her book, "I left it alone...it's in the window."

Groggily, Ese stood up and walked to the window; caught between both panes was a rich, red tulip and a note tied on with a black ribbon. Ese cracked the window to grab the flower, and closed it again; she opened the note and one of her feathers along with a white one fell out.

_'Do not cry at the sadness that plagues your heart..._

_...but if you do, always know..._

_that I will always..._

_...wipe your tears away.'_

"Who's that from?" Sven asked, walking in with breakfast. Ese could only smile. "An angel, I suppose."

--

The next day, the town was bustling due to the death of Gyanza; people were out on the streets and the town was filled with life...only, Ese wouldn't get to enjoy the life. Sven announced that today they were once again on the road. Train, Eve, Sven and Ese all packed up their belongings and headed out, walking out of the town of Lubha.

"Train," Sven started, "About this time's incident, there's something I should praise you for..."

"Huh?" Train responded, "what is it?"

Sven grabbed his cigarette, "While you and Gyanza were fighting...If you really wanted to kill him, even though your bullets couldn't hurt him, there were still other ways to do so. And you continued to 'not kill' despite his intent, in order to catch him...was your habit as a bounty hunter...or did you suppress it?"

Ese stared at Sven and Train...what did Train need suppressing?

"What a joke," Train replied, turning to Sven, "If he died, then all of our hard work would go to waste, wouldn't it?"

"But he did die," Ese piped in, "But we still made 1.5 million from it. So...not all of that was wasted...was it?"

Her question went unanswered as an old man stepped in front of them. Train, Sven and Eve all seemed to know this man..."Hello uncle!" Train called out, raising his hand.

"You..." the man replied, "You didn't plan on sneaking away without coming to see me?"

"Uncle," Train responded, "we fulfilled our promise! You should be happier now!"

Ese stared, very confused as Train continued, "For all those that died, we can only do one thing...which is 'smile and live on,' isn't that right!"

The man looked awful surprised at Train's slight monologue. But his facial features softened into a smile and he merely said, "You little brat..."

"Now, let's go, Sven, Eve...Ese-chan..." Train said, "or we won't be able to get to the train on time!"

Ese nodded, and Sven and Eve quickened their pace.

As they came to the train station, Sven said quietly to Eve, "Eve, do you know that people like Train are called 'jerks?'"

Eve nodded, "understood."

Train glared at his companions and shouted, "What did you say!?"

Ese turned to Train and asked, "What's...a jerk?"

Eve and Sven turned to Ese and both responded, "The perfect example of Train's personality."

Ese let the definition sink in and then smiled. "Train's a jerk! Train's a jerk!" She sang.

"Am not!" he huffed.

"Are too..." Eve muttered, climbing onto the train.

"_Am not_!" he said louder.

"Are too! Are too!" Ese chirped, copying Eve.

"**_I. AM. NOT. A. JERK_**!" He shouted.

"...you're acting like one now." Sven muttered, sitting down.

--

LOLLOLLOL Train's a jerk.

=D

Read and Review, please and thank-you.

=3

And here's something I'd like to have your opinion on...Ese x Train or...Ese x Hiro? 0________o; Write your opinions in your review! I'd like to see what you think! ^_________^


	13. Hit Thirteen: Black Cats and Bad Luck

Here's a fun chapter. ^______^

Chapter Thirteen! The main number if the entire Black Cat anime/manga! And this story!!! o__________0

Ese uses a gun! Sven sweeps a grave! Train drinks some MILK!

And Eve...quietly reads a book.

Black Cat (c) Yabuki Kentaro

Ese (c) Me

Hiro (c) Katrine

--

**_Black Wings_**

--

Hit Thirteen: Black feathers and Black Cats

The next town was very unfamiliar to Ese; it was very small and tucked away by jutting points and cliffs. That morning, Sven had left them to take care of some 'business,' leaving Train and the girls near the outskirts of the town.

Train had set up a little can on a rock and took some steps back; Ese sat with Eve in her lap a few feet further away. Train calmly stared at the can and brought the gun up, aiming it...and then shooting the can, sending it up flying. Ese almost stood up to catch it, but Train kept shooting at it, and the can kept bouncing this way and that with each and every bullet. Train looked as though he was having a jolly good time, merely shooting a can but he stopped when the last bullet was fired and the can fell lifelessly to the ground. Eve was astounded, staring and practically falling out of Ese's lap to see Train's victim.

"Oh..." Train muttered, walking to his fallen enemy, "Two of them missed."

"Missed?" Ese asked.

"Didn't all six of them hit dead on?" Eve questioned.

Train bent over to pick up the can and came back to Ese and Eve, "See for yourself," he explained, showing the three holes on the can, "I originally intended to shoot all the bullets into the first hole I created, but missed two shots."

Somewhat horrified looking, Train dropped the can, which was caught by Eve. He grabbed the sides of his hair and groaned out, "Oh heavens! My skills...they've regressed!" Eve...stared at the can with awe and at Train like he was stupid.

"All right!" Train said, holding a clenched fist, "Since that's how things are, I'll use the time before Sven returns for some long-needed shooting practice!"

"Train," Ese asked, folding her wings. "Train...I want to shoot the can."

Train turned and stared at her. "With what? Do you have a gun that I don't know about?"

Ese shook her head. "With your gun. I want to shoot the can." Train looked uneasy but she continued, "If I shoot my eye out, it's not like I won't grow in another one. Please?"

Ese started to crawl towards Train, making her eyes as big as possible. She figured if she begged and looked cute enough, he'd cave in. But instead of being 'moved,' Train's face was red and flustered as he stared down at Ese. "F-Fine! Ju-just stand up!"

Ese smiled and stood hugging Train. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ese thought that her begging had worked...but she didn't realize that it was her low-cut shirt that worked instead.

Train walked back over to the stump and set the can back up; he came back and handed Ese his gun. "Be careful; it's heavier than most...now, the barrel only has six shots, so you only have six tries to hit the can...got it?" Ese nodded.

"Now," Train explained, "You hold your arm up," as he spoke, he softly grabbed her wrist and held it up, his head very close to her neck, "and aim. Most people have to shut one eye to aim dead on but if you just focus on your target, that won't be necessary. If you need to use both hands to hold it up, do so..."

Ese gently brought her other hand up and brushed against the skin on Train's hand; she blushed and gulped.

"Once you've focused in on your target, pull the trigger."

Train pulled away from Ese and trotted backwards a few steps.

Ese stared at the can through the top of the gun and focused; nothing but her, the can and the gun...which made her hands tingle from the amount of orihalcon.

With her index finger, Ese reached on the trigger...and pulled. The gun shot and her hand flew backwards, the gun colliding with her head. Ese fell back, the can jumped up and the gun flew somewhere else.

"Ese!" Train shouted, running over to her. Ese swore she saw little cats talking to her, six of them.

"Oh Ese, only you'd hit yourself in the head while trying to shoot a can not 7 feet away!" Train said, exasperated. His arm slid underneath her neck and held her up into a sitting position; Ese felt dizzy, but the ground was starting to stand still and her eyes were starting to focus again. He leaned close to her, his face very near. "You okay?"

"My head hurts," She responded, rubbing the sore spot where the stupid orihalcon made contact. She'd forgot that she never told Train about the special iron ore and after today, she doubted she ever would.

"No joke? That's the hardest metal in the world and you just knocked yourself out with it." Train bent over a bit to slide his other arm underneath her knees and hoisted her up, holding her bridal style. Ese rested her head against his chest, feeling very flustered.

"Is Ese okay?" Eve asked. Train nodded and laughed, "She did more damage to herself than the can...look, she didn't even hit it."

Ese sighed. All of that for a shot that missed. Just her luck.

"Say," Eve muttered, "Where is Sven, Train?"

Train sat Ese down against the car and stood over her; "He has business..."

"What kind of business?" Eve interrogated.

Train smiled. "It's something important that he does every year."

--

A few hours (and a few more holy cans) later, Sven came back to the trio he had left. Only now, Eve was reading quietly on a rock and Ese was watching birds and considering on flying with them. As Sven walked up on them, Eve turned and smiled, "Sven!" She called.

Train stopped setting up cans and looked. Sven however, only stared at the pile of bullet laying on the ground.

"H-How many bullets did you waste!?" He demanded, pointing at Train.

"53 bullets," Eve responded obediently.

"How could this be considered a waste? I was practicing! And I didn't shoot all of those bullets..."

Ese raised her hand and turned to Sven, "I shot one."

"You idiot!" Sven hollered, "You think bullets don't cost any money?!"

"Hearing you put it that way, I guess so!"

Eve sighed. "53 bullets..."

--

That next afternoon, when Ese woke up, Train was gone. As she walked into the kitchen, Eve was at the table, about to eat a fish. "Itadakimasu!" She called, as her index fingers transformed into a knife and a fork.

"Good afternoon, Ese and go ahead Eve." Sven called, working on what looked like a weapon. Ese responded with a yawn.

"You're not eating?" Eve asked, digging in.

"No," Sven muttered, "I'm really sleepy now. In order to prepare this new weapon, I stayed up the entire night."

"Is it that important?" Ese asked. Sven nodded.

"Sven," Ese continued, "Where's Train?" Eve nodded, "Yes, where is that annoying cat?"

Sven turned to the girls with a mean glare, "That damn kid went on a date! Yesterday, Rinslet sent him an e-mail...as long as that idiot hears that someone's inviting him to a meal, he'll dash off without a second thought!" he complained.

Ese stared. Rinslet? Date? What did all of that mean?

"Who's Rinslet?" Ese asked.

"She's a thief." Sven muttered, "who crossed our paths once when we found Eve."

"What's a date?" She asked, curious.

"It...it usually means..." Sven turned and saw Ese, staring at him from across the room and sighed. "You tell her Eve."

"When a man and a woman have a slight interest in one another, they go out on dates."

"Slight...interest?"

Eve nodded, "Usually a sexual chemistry sort of interest."

"But then again, Train's sexual chemistry is always food...so it's hard to think that he'd take a girl seriously," Sven muttered in.

Ese stared. "Sexual...chemistry? Does Train like this Rinslet?"

Eve and Sven shrugged. Ese felt a hiss escape her lips as she slammed both hands on the table. "Sven! Go on a date with me!" she ordered.

Sven turned and stared at her as if she were a zombie. "C-come again?"

"I think she's going to try and make Train jealous," Eve explained in between chews, "Because he went on a date with Rinslet."

Ese tugged on her hair and growled. Did this mean that he didn't feel anything towards her? Oh men and their stupid mood swings!

Ese silently stormed around the house, gathering some clean clothes. "If you need me," She growled, "I'll be in the bathroom!" She slammed the door shut and glared at herself in the mirror.

_"Please don't cry..._

_You aren't as beautiful when you cry..."_

Hiro's familiar voice filled her head. No, she wasn't going to cry. Ese sighed and took her pajama's off; she went and turned the knob on the bathtub to start filling it with water. Sitting down on the toilet while the tub filled, she started to brush her hair.

When her long, golden hair was smooth and tangle-free, she stepped into the warm water and slid down, covering most of her body. She sighed and turned off the water.

Despite finally knowing who she was, where she came from and what she was, she still kept quiet. She still didn't know many things because of the shot to her head that caused her memory to mess up in the first place...she still had trouble deciphering feelings and people.

But...what if...she told Train? That she was 'the world's most special woman?' Would he be alarmed? Would he ignore her again? As much as she'd like to tell Train, she couldn't...he'd know too much. She sighed and slid deeper into the water.

If she were immortal...did that mean...that life with normal people was impossible? Her heart started to thump wildly in her chest...did that mean...

She suddenly stood up, despite the cold air. She had an anxious ache in her chest and her ears were ringing. This couldn't mean that...

"--and said that I had to be her lover for a day!" She heard Train say.

Right...outside...the bathroom...door?

Train burst in, not quite paying attention to what exactly was in the bathroom. "So could you--" and he froze when he turned and saw Ese standing naked in front of him, glistening with bath water.

Ese's heart stopped. The air stood still. In fact, if it wasn't for Sven suddenly hollering about Train's non-chivalrous act, she had assumed time had stood still.

Yet strangely enough...Train didn't look away. He stared. And then Ese screamed and dropped back into the tub, covering herself with whatever she could find; Train, turned slowly and closed the door.

"Why'd you do that, you peeping tom!" Sven demanded on the other side of the door.

"You could've told me she was in there, you old man!" Train hissed back.

"If you hadn't been complaining about Rinslet, I probably could have told you, you stupid cat!"

Ese sighed. Her friends sure were fun to be with...

--

After all was settled down, Ese came out of the bathroom feeling very refreshed. She couldn't help the blush that wouldn't leave her cheeks, but she figured she could still looked a little flush after a long hot bath. She slowly walked into the living room but couldn't find anyone...until a note fluttered on the fridge.

**Ese,**

**I do apologize for our sudden disappearance, but Train has dug a hole too deep for himself and needed some help.**

**If you would like to find us, we're at Madame Freesia's birthday ball...**

**And if you're not quite sure where that's held, follow all of the cars.**

**But if you stay home, there's noodles in the pantry.**

**-Sven**

"A...ball..." she muttered to herself. Eve told her a story about a princess who went to a ball...and wore a beautiful evening gown. Ese quickly ran to her room and starting strewing her belongings aside, looking for anything that resembled a dress...but all she had was her first scrap of clothing, the blue day dress she'd stolen from a laundry line.

She couldn't go to something so nice dressed in something rather plain. But she then remembered something about emergency money...in the table next to the couch. She ran back to the living room and was almost at said table when she froze; could this really be an emergency? Did she really need to go? She stood there, contemplating. If she stayed here, she wouldn't have to put up with Train and his stupid lover for a day. But if she went, and there was trouble...she could help. She sighed...Sven would just have to forgive her...

--

There really wasn't much of 'emergency' money. All she could afford was a crimson red dress that was thin down to the ankle, where it flared out. And the dress included some black heels which pretty much drained her of all the money. She sighed; she was starting to feel that this 'emergency' wasn't so urgent anymore...

At the hotel, she quietly went to her room and undressed. She grabbed scissors and started to 'altercate' her dress a bit to fit her personal needs...when she was done with it, it had no straps and ran straight across her chest; with what little fabric she had left over she used as a choker. She looked into the mirror and sighed; she still seemed plain but she wasted enough time. She needed to leave. Walking carefully on her death-trap heels, she made her way to Madam Freesia's birthday ball.

--

Soon, Ese came to a large building with a lot of people crowding around it. She silently pushed her way through, but after awhile people moved aside for her, letting her through. Soon she was inside...

It was beautiful...large light fixtures made of crystal hung from the ceiling; a fountain stood in the middle of the room and tall, pearl-like columns reflected light. She stood there breathless...everything was beautiful.

"Ladies and gentlemen..." she heard a voice say from above. She looked around but couldn't find anyone that was speaking...so she kept walking hastily, avoiding eye contact with anybody. She kept her head low; she was merely here as aid in case something went wrong, that was it. Soon she came to a room filled with tables and people standing, looking at what appeared to be a woman speaking into a stick.

"First of all," the woman continued, "I'd like to thank everyone for making time in their busy schedules to attend my 50th birthday party!"

At this point everyone started to clap, so Ese figured she might as well join in.

"Please everyone!" The woman continued as soon as she was done speaking. She raised a glass high in the air. "Raise your glasses for a toast! Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Everyone else chimed in. "Cheers..." Ese murmured quietly with a smile on her face. The woman who was speaking started to walk away and people were sitting down and chattering. Ese started to look around for Train, just in case.

She caught sight of him soon and blushed. He was so...so...cute. His messy bangs were parted in the middle and his wild hair was gelled back neatly. he wore what Sven usually wore...a suit. His was black with a striped shirt and a solid black tie. She shook her mind off of his good looks (although she'd like to ponder on that thought) and noticed she was talking to a man with oily, wavy hair. But Train started to walk away with this man...and Ese surely couldn't follow. She sighed.

"Well...hello there." A familiar voice from behind chimed.

Ese turned and saw Hiro standing in a white tuxedo with a black bowtie. "It's a pleasure seeing you here, madame...and dressed so beautifully too."

Ese smiled and blushed. "Hello Hiro-san...Wh-when did you...?" Hiro smiled a bit and said nothing. "Come; you stand out by just standing around. Let's go sit, shall we?" He softly grabbed her hand and escorted her to a table.

"You've never been to a ball, have you?" He asked. Ese shook her head no. "Well," Hiro explained, "There's free food, and drink available...they really went all out, I'd say."

Ese nodded, "But...I'm not here for the food or the drink..." she murmured. Hiro quirked his eye brow. "Oh? Then what are you here for?"

If Ese told Hiro that she was here to stalk Train Heartnet, that'd probably freak him out a tad. "I'm...searching for a bounty. I'm...a sweeper." Hiro nodded and smiled, a look of amusement coming to his face. "Really? A sweeper? That's a tough job, isn't it?"

Ese nodded. "And we haven't had any bounties in awhile...it stinks." She sighed. "I had to take from Sven's emergency money just to come here..."

"Sven?" Hiro asked, raising his eyebrows. Ese smiled. "An eye-patched sweeper friend."

"Hey!" A booming voice said over all of the other guests. "May I have your attention please!"

"Party time..." Hiro said with a slight chuckle.

"At this time, we'll hold our mid-party event! In the main hall of the first floor will be an exhibit of the precious 'treasure' Madame Freesia acquired a few days ago...next, I will lead all of you..."

Hiro stood in his seat. "Shall we?" he asked, holding his hand up. Ese blushed and nodded, standing with him and following the crowd of people to 'the mid-party event.'

Hiro wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her close, "I'd hate for you to get lost, you understand?" He whispered softly. Ese nodded.

As the two of them were walking, Ese saw Eve against a column, talking to a woman in a wine-red dress with violet hair. "OH!" Ese cried, walking towards her, "Eve-chan...why are you here?" She asked.

The violet woman (which Ese could slightly recognize from the Lunafort Tower incident) stared at Ese. "Who are you?"

Ese turned to the woman, "I'm Ese. Eve's big sister." Eve nodded.

"Eve...you know her?" Eve nodded again. "I-I see...well I'm Rinslet Walker..."

Ese hissed. "Rinslet...Walker?" Hiro then came up behind Ese and smiled. "These must be your friends...don't be rude, Ese-chan. Introduce me to your friends..."

Ese huffed and nodded. "I don't know the geisha lady with all of the face paint...but...this little girl is Eve. Eve is a special person."

Rinslet glared daggers at Ese. "I'm...Rinslet Walker." She said with a tight smile. Eve nodded. "Eve," Ese continued, "This is Hiro. He's a special person too."

Eve walked over and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you," She murmured.

"Well now," Rinslet started, "We were on our way to view Madame Freesia's large and valuable treasure...would you like to accompany us?" Hiro smiled, "Yes, that would be a pleasure."

The four came to a crowded room with a large cage in it. Rinslet looked very...excited? while Eve, Hiro and Ese stood there curiously.

"Eve-chan," Ese whispered, "Where's Sven?"

"He's waiting outside, sleeping in the car," She whispered back. Ese leaned back up and sighed; oh Sven, the glutton for sleep...

The strange lady from before stood on a platform in front of the large cage. "Come!" She started, talking once again into a stick, "Everyone, a great show is about to begin! Proceeding onward, I'd like to introduce a new member of our rare animal exhibit, 'Flora!'"

Rinslet looked shocked. "Wh-what?" She started to mumble, "The treasure in the cage? It wasn't diamonds?"

"We are very fortunate to be here today to witness this spectacle. In the entire world, there only exists a single specimen of Flora's kind - an indisputable treasure!" The strange woman continued. Ese heard a strange noise however...it sounded like large stomping from a large animal. It echoed down the hallway that the cage covered. "You hear it too, Ese?" Hiro asked, glaring at the cage. She nodded. "Do you know what it is?" She whispered. Hiro's eyes tightened; "An abomination..."

"About a year ago," the strange woman's voice boomed, "I took considerable risks to financially support certain fundamental research laboratories, allowing them to recreate particular extinct animals from their very fossils...please listen," as the stomping noise got louder, "Can everyone hear it?"

"Get ready, Ese," Hiro growled, glaring at the cage.

"Ready?" Ese asked, wide-eyed.

"That cage is holding a monster."

"Come! Take the stage, Flora--"

A large car flew from out of the hallway and collided with the cage. The cage didn't budge...following the car, a large, reptilian-like monster poked its round head from the hallway. Ese was shocked; it stood, stories high with rows of sharp fangs poking from underneath its top lip. It had puny, short front claws, but large, deadly looking claws on its feet.

As it walked into the room, a low, ferocious growl could be heard in its throat.

"E-Eve-chan..." Ese stammered quietly. "T-that...thing...what is it?"

"A...Tyrannosaurus? I've seen it in a picture before." She replied.

"It can't possibly be, can it?" Rinslet asked in awed horror. Somewhere though, over the crowd, Ese heard the strange woman say, "Isn't there supposed to be an electric barrier?"

The beast threw its head up and released a roar that sent many people running, men were trembling and women were screaming. Then, Flora rammed the cage with its bone head.

"D-Do not worry!" The strange woman said, although panic was apparent in her voice, "This cage was specially constructed, and will not break, even if rammed by an elephant..."

"But it's not an elephant, you ignorant woman..." Hiro growled between clenched teeth. Just as he finished his statement, the cage gave way and Flora stepped from its boundary lines.

Everyone held their breath.

"Th-this...this definitely can't be good." Ese murmured.

--

THERE YOU GO. Since it is chapter 13, I gave you all a nice, long chapter to read! ^-^ (If people are still reading, that is...)

Here's some trivia; Tyrannosaurus Rex is a mixture of Greek and Latin words; Tyranno coming from Tyrant means king, saurus is 'lizard,' and Rex is Latin for 'ruler,' or 'king' as well. So in broken up terms, Tyrannosaurus Rex means 'king lizard, king.' ^^

Anyway, I wanted to put the 'special treat' in this chapter, but it was getting really lon (3,753 words so far!) so it'll just have to wait for the next chapter...oh well.

And on a side note: I use the alternate spelling I found for 'orihalcon.' I get my manga chapters from One Manga, that's how they spelled it, that's how I will.

^^'

Thanks for reading!

-Rie


	14. Hit Fourteen: Lizards, Cats and Angels?

When we last left our heroine, she was face to face with a giant lizard whom not only is very dangerous, but very hungry. o___________o

And in this chapter, something VEEEERRRRRYYYYY special happens to your favorite cat! ;3

Read and reviews would be nice! :D

Black Cat (c) Yabuki Kentaro

Ese (c) Me

Hiro (c) Katrine

--

**_Black Wings_**

--

Hit Fourteen: Lizards and Cats and Angels, oh my!

In that brief, silent moment, Flora roared again.

It was then that the panic struck everyone, and they started to scream; "W-we're all going to be eaten!" Ese heard people scream.

Flora stomped towards a woman and opened its mouth wide; the woman, frozen in fear, took one look at the monster and screamed.

Ese quickly dashed and grabbed the woman, unfolding her wings and swooping just out of Flora's way. "You shouldn't stay so still when you're about to get eaten," She said, in a matter-of-fact tone. The woman took one look at Ese and burst into tears. "I'm dead! An angel has come for me, I must be dead!" Ese sighed and smiled nervously, "No, ma'am, you aren't dead. Just alive." Ese stood and stared at the monster, rampaging around and looking for another innocent victim. Eve stood still, staring at the dinosaur and Hiro was busy getting people to get out of the room without hurting themselves. At first, Ese thought Eve was scared but after looking at the girls face, Eve was plotting. Hiro dropped down from the air, the back of his tuxedo ripped open. "Ese-chan!" he called out, "Most of the guests are gone, but some are still running around!"

Ese nodded and dodged the giant lizard to Eve. "Eve-chan," She murmured, "Little Princess." She dropped her knees and grabbed her shoulders. "Whatever you do, don't do anything reckless...I'm going to go find Train. You try and protect the people, okay?" Eve nodded. Ese smiled. "Good girl. If you find yourself in trouble, run. Don't be a hero. Find Sven." Once again, Eve nodded and took a step back. Ese stood up too and unfolded her wings. "And...now!" She jumped up, and Flora saw the woman flying over head. She took a snap at Ese, but missed; Ese was too quick for the dumb brute.

"Rins..." Eve murmured softly, "Escape with the others. Leave the brute to me."

"What?!" Rins ordered, but before she could tell Eve that what she was doing was stupid, Hiro grabbed her just as Flora stomped in Rinslet previous place. "I think the little girl can handle herself..." Hiro murmured with a very playful grin.

--

Ese was running down hallways, calling out Train's name. It was dead empty, just like Lubha city was...only this wasn't a dead city, just a dead building with a raging Tyrannosaurs downstairs. She ran into a guy, the same man with the oily, wavy hair, only he just kept running as she fell over. Ese fell down and hissed, "Rude!" Ahead, in a junction of hallways, people were running...and she recognized a very familiar man with crazy brown hair...

"Train!" She called, running forward. The crowd was thick with people and Train was having difficulty staying in one place; Ese flew over the fear-crazed crowd and grabbed Train's hand, pulling him up and into the empty hallway. She fell on the ground with him on top of her.

"You okay?" She asked, resting. Train rolled off of her and nodded. "Thanks...but...what the hell are you doing here?"

"Ah, just enjoying the party, you know." Ese said with a shrug. The hallway rumbled and another roar echoed throughout the building.

"What was that?"

"By the way," Ese continued, "There's a raging beast in the ceremony hall and Eve-chan was left there to fight it while I came looking for you. Shall we go?"

Train and Ese both stood up quickly and ran down the pathway to the ceremony hall; sure enough, Flora was still there and Eve was in the air with white wings, slowly falling while holding Rinslet.

"Oh no!" Ese hissed. Train jumped over the railing and onto the floor of the ceremony hall; quickly, he pulled out his gun and shot the beast, whose head bounced to the side. With a grin, he added, "Now you don't have to worry about how to handle the whole situation..."

Ese sighed; stupid reckless cat. She too dropped down onto the main floor.

"So...Little Princess is an angel too, now?" Train asked, scratching his head with a gun. "Even dinosaurs...let's give it to Madame Freesia for knowing how to throw an excellent party."

Eve touched down with Rinslet and looked at Train. Flora...looked confused for a moment.

"Does this count as one of the after-party events, Rinslet?" Train asked.

Rinslet looked at Train and grinned tightly, "You came at the right time, Train."

Flora came running towards Rinslet and Eve, opening its huge jaws and roaring again. "It's angry!" Rinslet screamed, running backwards.

Train jumped up and kicked the dinosaur once at the base of the head, and again in the middle of the back. Flora started to fall down, but not before crashing into another wall, which unfortunately led outside.

Eve stared at the huge hole in the ceiling. "Its...gone outside."

Train sat, squat in front of the hole. "How dangerous." Ese walked over to him and helped him up. "So if Flora's outside...with more people...I don't see this ending well, Train."

Eve started to run towards the hole, "I-I have to stop...it!!" she cried, but fell short when she collapsed on the ground.

"Your body endured too much strain," Rinslet said quietly to Eve, "you're still not used to continuously undergoing multiple transformations, right? It's best for you to rest a little."

Train started to walk towards the girls and Ese looked around. "Wh-where's Hiro?" She asked, to no one in particular. Hiro flew down and landed in front of Ese...only know, the entire top of his tuxedo was ripped to shreds, exposing a sculpted, tan chest. "Right here..." he murmured, looking a tad tired. Ese stared. "Wha-what happened to you?" She asked, feeling flustered by looking at his body. Hiro sighed; "Well I went to save a group of people and accidentally got in Flora's way...and she sent me into a wall."

"All right..." Train said, walking towards Eve and Rinslet, "Can you take a moment to explain how this place turned into such a mess?"

"Freesia's pet dinosaur went crazy," Hiro said, explaining to Train. Train turned around and stared at Hiro with a weird look in his eyes. "Who are you?" Train hissed through gritted teeth. Hiro smiled competitively, "I'm just a friend of our Angel, is all," he murmured.

"Freesia...manipulated genetics to bring a dinosaur back to life, intending to keep it as a pet!" Rinslet told Train, disgusted. "And like Hiro said...it went totally berserk, tearing down the cage it was in and going on a complete rampage!"

"Train," Eve said, pushing herself up to her knees, "I'm begging you...hurry and stop the creature. If you don't intercept it soon...at this rate, the severity of the situation will magnify...and it will be killed." Train stared at Eve for a moment, slight shock crossing his face. "It's...the same...as me." Eve continued, "Both of us were created artificially...with no place to go...knowing only how to create chaos. It is innocent! But...if this goes on...it will certainly reach the point of no return."

Ese looked outside...she knew how Eve somewhat felt. Locked away because you're different. She turned for a moment to look at Rinslet, Eve...and Train.

"Are you going...?" Hiro asked, a grin crossing his face. Ese nodded. "I shall go on ahead to help control the beast..." She bent down and ripped the hem of her dress up the her thigh. Dropping the cloth she added, "I'll make sure that Flora doesn't get shot or captured." Ese turned to look at the three again and then jumped up high into the air, taking off down the street.

It wasn't hard finding a lizard that was about the size of a building. Flora had stumbled into another section of the building, snapping at security guards and just causing chaos.

"Everybody's brought their guns, right!?" One guard in particular yelled.

"Hold on!" Freesia demanded, "What are you planning to do?!"

"Unless we kill Flora right now, your bankruptcy will be exposed, Madame!" The guard explained.

"Okay, prepare--" But guard didn't finish talking. Ese landed right in front of Flora and with one wave of her hand, the guns fell to the ground. "No need for those," She murmured, a strange look in her eye.

Flora growled and glared at Ese. It charged downward at her and Ese leapt, striking downward on the beasts' bone head. Ese followed down the spine as Flora brought its head up, snapping down the whole way. "Enough!" Ese growled, her eyes burning. Her mind raced and locked on the monster, freezing it in place. "Sit...down!" She hissed, flicking her chin; Flora rammed into the ground, cracking the stone. Ese thought she could hold her, but she'd never exercised her mind; Flora was so large that she easily broke through Ese's mental manipulation and with a wide mouth, scooped her up into her jaws.

"Ooooh!!" Ese screamed, and just before Flora could chomp down, Ese held one arm up to stop the top part of the jaw, and one arm down to keep the bottom secure. So Flora couldn't swallow, Ese wrapped her tail around its slimy tongue. Drool started to drip down from the roof of Flora's mouth, but Ese held her position. "How dare you try and eat me!" She growled loudly; but she couldn't concentrate in this particular situation, so her mind couldn't muster enough energy to open the mouth. Flora's mouth was stuck in a half-open position, with something stuck to its tongue; she started to thrash about, slamming its head against walls and columns to get Ese loose.

"E-Ese?!" she heard Train yell. "Help!" She yelled back, as loud as she could manage. "I'm stuck! If I let go, I'll be digested!" Which, even though she was immortal, she did not want to be stuck inside the belly of this beast. Especially considering they were trying to keep it alive, not cut it open.

Flora growled and opened her mouth wider, causing Ese to slip forward; the grip on her tail tightened, but she still slid deeper into Flora's mouth. Flora roared once again, sending God knows what nastiness at Ese. Before she could chomp down again, Ese retained her former position, only now, because she was closer to the throat, she had to use both arms for the roof and her feet for the bottom.

"Train, if she roars again, I'm gonna fall!" She cried out, but suddenly felt like being thrown back; she flung back to the front of the mouth and landed on her back; Flora was about to chomp down, but Ese held both arms up, stopping it. She dug her heels into Flora's gums, hoping for less slipping; only, very little light was shining in through Flora's teeth, and Ese couldn't quite tell what could happen again.

Ese heard screams and yelling of people; were they outside? She didn't know and at the moment, didn't care. All she wanted at this moment was to get out of Flora's nasty mouth.

Flora's tongue slipped from underneath Ese and slammed on top of her; Ese cringed, but held her arms in place; if she were to waiver, Flora's mouth would shut totally and Ese would be chow to a dinosaur for however long it took for Flora to digest. And the mere thought of being dino-feces was about as appealing as a shovel to the face.

As Flora walked (more like, as Flora stomped) Ese was being jostled around; "HELP?!" She called out.

Quite suddenly, light flooded into Flora's mouth and Ese saw the sky. While the opening was clear, Ese jumped up and started to fly; however, her feathers were caked in spit and all she accomplished was a very sloppy jump. As the dinosaur fell, Ese was halfway out...

...until its jaws clamped shut on her arm. A light had hit the top of Flora's head, which caused the sudden slip, but the moment Flora was on the ground, it couldn't hold its mouth open. Ese was trapped, again, only this time, her arm was stuck between two teeth. She dare not tug, for she feared her arm could come off, and she doubted that she could grow a new one, like Train could.

Flora growled again and tasted Ese's blood in its mouth. The lizard stood up again, with Ese hanging around. She saw Sven, and even Train a few yards back, sitting on a light fixture. He was grinning; so apparently he'd gone mad, or he had a plan, or even both. Ese didn't care; she wanted out of her death trap and away from lizards. Forever.

She looked and saw Train, and suddenly his hand lit up; he was firing his gun at Flora. Only, as she looked, the bullets were aimed for the ground; her feet!

With a sudden shock of pain, Flora opened her mouth, causing Ese to fall down and hitting the ground. Blood spewed from her arm, and although it hurt, in a few hours it wouldn't hurt anymore. She started to get up, but had the sky always been so dark? She looked up and...

...was crunched by Flora's falling head.

--

"I think she might be waking up..." She heard. Ese cracked her eyes open and looked around; once again, she was back in the hotel. She felt...slimy.

"O...ow." She muttered, sitting up. As her vision cleared, she saw Train, Sven and even Eve, sitting around her and looking. In the background, Rinslet was leaning against the wall.

"Ha ha," Train said, "She smells funny."

"Shut up, Train," Sven grumbled. Ese looked around. "How long was I out this time?" she muttered, rubbing her head.

"Well..." Train started, sitting across from her, "we didn't realize Flora had fell on you until the police started moving her; you were stuck to her chin and fell off onto the ground...Sven and I immediately took you home and you've been out for...a few hours since." he finished.

"Is Eve okay?" She asked, not really caring. She wanted to bathe and not feel so nasty. Train smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Eve's fine." As Ese looked, Train didn't take his eyes off of her; in fact, he almost looked a little shaken. Ese sighed; probably 'cause of Eve...but who knew. "I'm...definitely going to shower."

"Well the hot water is on and off," Rinslet complained, "So best of luck to you."

--

Ese crawled into bed, feeling sore. Her head struck the pillow and she was almost asleep...until a light flickered on.

"So." Train said, sitting in a chair next to her bed. "That...Hiro guy seems to know you..._pretty_ well, it seems." Ese stared at Train groggily. "Yeah," was all she said.

Train stared at her, getting slightly frustrated. "Do you...know him?" he demanded. Ese shrugged. "A little." She answered.

"Dammit, Ese, _wake up_!" He hissed, grabbing her by her shoulders. Ese stared at Train. "Why are you still angry with me?" She asked tiredly. "I'm sorry if I did something wrong but as of now, Train...I just want to..." Ese stared at Train. "Wh-what's wrong with you?" She asked. He had a tear, brimming on the corner of his eye.

"Today...and in Luhba..." he murmured, hugging her close. "I lost you then...and I thought...well that you were possibly dead. When you fell from Flora today, I thought I screwed up again and didn't protect you well enough..."

At the moment, Train's words were slurring together. She wasn't quite sure what he was saying, but she heard 'dead,' 'Flora,' and 'protect.' Ese sighed and returned the hug. "That's all right. You don't have to worry about me ever getting killed."

She reached up and whispered into his ear; "_Because I'm immortal_."

And then, all went black...

--

I'll dedicate the next chapter to whoever can figure out what Train's 'treat' was. ^-^ and I won't update until someone guesses correctly. :3

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review! :3


	15. Hit Fifteen: What is Love?

Wow; congratulations **Dominican Kitsune** for figuring out what Train's treat was! Yes, if you all remember, his one question for Ese was always 'what are you' and she finally answered. ^^

This chapter's for you, thanks.

And also...I'd like to make a special shout out to **Henty1993**; so far, she's been one of my most dedicated reviewers. ^^ This chapter's for you; look! I updated! :D

Thanks again for reading!

--

**_Black Wings_**

--

Hit Fifteen: What is love?  
_(A:N// 'Baby don't hurt me...don't hurt me...no moar...')_

She couldn't make out the figures in the background...but she saw the shimmering blue eyes of Creed. She growled very deeply and felt a sudden need to kill.

Creed needed to die...but what was that woman doing? So strange...her arm was vanished into thin air...but as she looked...wasn't that her arm behind Train? Her arm...with a gun?

'I'm immortal...' her own words echoed throughout her mind. She wanted, no...needed to save Train. She started to run, but she was so slow; everything was so heavy. She tried screaming, but blood was in her throat, burning her from the inside out. A pain burned in her shoulder...she couldn't fly...but she had to save Train, less life wasn't worth living.

But everything was so...damn...slow! She kept running, kept trying to scream; but nothing worked. She reached out...but a moment too late.

Train fell forward, blood pooling around his dead body. His eyes, once full of life, were dead and cold.

A sudden feeling in her chest caused instant tears to spring in her eyes; no...no, this couldn't be happening. Train couldn't be dead. But she cried, because somewhere, her heart knew that he was gone. She was flung to the ground, her tears falling, her eyes burning.

Death. Death. Train dies. Creed dies. What was this word...

...revenge?

--

Ese shot up in bed, cold sweat falling from her face. "T-Train..." She groaned out; where was he? Was he hurt?

"Hm?" His voice sleepily replied. Ese stared for a moment and then followed down to see him curled up next to her arm, on her...bed...still sleeping. What's worse...he was half naked. Ese screeched and fluttered backwards, falling on herself and wincing.

"What!" Train suddenly jolted up. "What's wrong? What! What!"

"Wh-why are you in here?!" She demanded, her face feeling hot and flustered. Train sat back, still half-asleep. "I was out last night and when I came back, Sven was mad at me and locked me out of the room with two beds so I crawled into here 'cause you were sleeping like the dead so I figured since we already slept together once why not again...?" He was so sleepy, he wasn't even looking straight; he was staring at a lamp throughout his whole slurred speech.

But it wasn't like before...Ese remembered that time; a very innocent time, but it's not the same now. Every time she saw Train now, her heart fluttered about excitedly.

"Please get back up here," Train muttered sleepily, resting his head back down on a pillow. "It's...cold."

Ese sighed and felt the blush come back. He was so silly...

_'And that's...when I fell in love with you...'_

Ese heard the words, so clearly in her head. What was love? She'd heard it many times before now...she didn't want to ask Eve; the little girl gave answers that were much too confusing...but she didn't want to ask Train either. She sighed. That left Sven...or Rinslet, although Ese hated to admit that she actually needed to go to her for some 'friendly help.'

Ese crawled back onto the warm sheets. A strange smile crossed Train's face and he nuzzled his head into her warm body and curled up again; almost like a cat. She almost thought she heard purring, but it was only an airplane outside...

"Train..." Ese started quietly. He mumbled something in his sleep.

"Saya...did...did you love her?" She asked, her heart hammering. Train's soft breathing continued, "no..." he breathed. "She...was...special."

A special person? Like Sven, and Eve? Ese couldn't quite grasp what he was saying.

"Special?" Ese asked aloud. Train nodded. "Like..." he mumbled, "Ese-chan is."

Ese's heart stopped for a split second. Train called her 'special.' Much like Hiro does every time she happens to bump into him. Her face became so flustered, her cheeks started to tingle...

"I'm...special?" She whispered. Train smiled. "To me..." he responded.

Ese laid, stock still in the bed until she finally heard Train's heart beat slow down...he was finally asleep. Very quietly, she stood up and quickly got out of the room.

--

She didn't know how long she sat there (or even what time it was) but when Sven came out of this bedroom, he looked very surprised to see her sitting on the chair. Ese was curled up, staring off into space; it actually surprised her a little when Sven came out.

"What are you doing there?" Sven asked, lighting one of his paper rolls.

Ese stared at Sven. "What is love?" She asked.

Sven stared back, very...confused by the question. "Wh-what?" He asked again.

"I've heard it said to me many times now," she started, "I've been told that someone loves me. I've been told that I'm special..." Ese sighed. "But I don't know what it is to love or to be loved. What is it?"

Sven sat down across from her, on the couch. "Who told you that?"

Ese looked down at the floor. "I...can't say."

Sven tried to make eye-contact with her. "Did...Train say that?" He asked.

Ese shot up. "No. He did not. Someone else did."

Sven sighed and looked around..."Well...I guess the best way to describe that feeling...is...practically knowing that someone is a part of your life. Like how...I love you and Train and Eve as my makeshift family...but there's more deeper feelings, sometimes, when it comes to two people who just feel right for each other."

Ese cocked her head. Sven said that she and Eve and Train was her makeshift family and that he loved them.

"Families...love each other?" She asked. Sven nodded, "Well...a different kind of love," he continued. He had to admit, explaining things like this was difficult.

"But," He continued, taking a quick drag, "I'm sure whoever told you that they love you...they have a special place in their heart for you."

"In...their heart? But those are so small. I wouldn't fit." Ese muttered.

Sven gave an awkward laugh, "No...it's just a means of explaining it. A...hypothetical saying." He finished with a nod.

Ese let the words process into her brain. "Hiro said that we were made for each other...but if someone loves you, you don't have to love them back?" She asked.

Sven looked at the ceiling and fiddled with his paper roll. "It's...your feelings. You can't help if you can't return someone's affections."

"I see..." Ese took a deep breath and stood up, folding her wings very neatly.

"Sven. I am in love with Train Heartnet."

--

Ese made Sven swear to secrecy about her newfound feelings for the Black Cat. And Sven promised...needless, despite that, it was once again to leave town. Sven informed Ese that they were planning on following a suspect and to wake Train up.

"Do I have to?" She asked, not very comfortable about the idea of going back to her room.

"Please just go wake up that blasted kid," Sven mumbled, "He needs to get up. It's almost noon."

Ese nodded, and sighed, standing from her spot on the couch. She walked to her room and slowly opened the door...sure enough, Train was still asleep, only now, he was stretched out sideways and snoring to beat the band. Ese tiptoed over to his head and sighed. "Train," She muttered, poking him. He groaned out in his sleep. Ese gritted her teeth and poked him harder. "Train!" She hissed out of irritation...why wouldn't he wake up already? Train started to moan...it almost sounded like he was in pain.

"S-Saya..." he muttered, rolling over and moaning again. Ese was done with being nice, then. "Train!" She shouted, punching him in the back. Quick as a flash, Train snatched his gun and pointed at her; before she could blink, he let loose a round into her chest.

--

**[A/N: a round for Hades is six bullets.]**

--

Ese hit the floor with a thud. Those bullets were sharp and ripped through skin.

"_Oh_...OH GOD!" Train shouted, appearing next to her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean..."

Ese looked up calmly. "It's all right." She said, grabbing his arm. While it did somewhat hurt, it was healing fast; soon the pain was nothing more than a dull ache as all of the bullets fell and the holes closed up.

Sven came running in the room, "What's going on!? What happened!?" Train looked up at Sven and sighed.

Ese stood up and patted the gunpowder off of her. "I think I scared him."

Sven stared. "Scared...him? You scared Train?" he asked. Ese nodded in response; "I think he just acted on instinct. He didn't mean to shoot me." Sven stared at Train. "You shot her!?"

Train nodded. "Six times," Ese added. "But she was right," Train continued, "I...thought for a moment...that it could've been Creed. And acted on instinct. I didn't mean for her to get hurt..."

Ese sighed. "But I'm not hurt." she muttered under her breath.

Sven sighed. "A-all right then...well we're leaving in a few hours, Train. Start getting ready." Train solemnly nodded as Sven walked out of the room.

"A-are you okay?" He asked, not looking at Ese. "Yeah, I said I was. I already told you; I can't die."

Train was quiet. "That's right...I forgot...you even took a bullet to the head and was up an hour after getting your neck snapped in half..." he sighed, "You're...invincible."

For some reason, the words made Ese turn to face Train, who was staring right at her. "No," She said, blush coming back to her face, "I'm not. Invincibility means that no one can stop you...but...I do have one weakness..." She whispered, stepping a little bit closer to him. He brought his arm up to stroke her hand as his head leaned in closer. "What...?" he whispered, his eyes smoldering.

"I'm..." she started...

"Little close for comfort, eh?" a voice said from the window. Ese snapped away from Train as he slowly glared at the voice.

Hiro waved while a big grin stretched across his face. "Hiro!" Ese exclaimed, surprised.

"What do you want?" Train growled, his hair starting to brush up.

"Quiet, cat." Hiro hissed, "I wanted to make sure that my angel didn't do something she'd regret later."

Ese stared. "Wait, what?" She asked.

Hiro stepped in, his pearl white wings fluttering; "You heard me; I love you, Ese, and I'm going to make sure that no one else can steal your heart away."

--

**OMGCOMPETITION**. ;D

And...somewhat cliffe...but expect a small scuffle between Hiro and Train at the beginning of the next chapter! :D

Thanks for reading!

-Rie


	16. Hit Sixteen: Rumors of the Black Cat

It's actually kind of ironic; I'm only on chapter 16 in BLaCK Wings but in the Black Cat Manga (I'm trying to keep close to the story as possible) I'm already on chapter 43. Interesting notion.

I forgot to put a disclaimer in the last chapter, but you all know, right?

Black Cat (c) Yabuki Kentaro

Ese (c) Me

Hiro (c) Katrine.

_**Black Wings**_

Hit Sixteen: Rumors of the Black Cat

"You son of a-" Train hissed, charging at Hiro and striking him in the face. Hiro flew backwards, scattering white fluff everywhere. In return, the red-head kicked Train back, only defending himself for a few more seconds.

"Wa-wait!" Ese started, staring at the two men fighting. Train reached back over and kicked Hiro, only to have his leg grabbed. Hiro started to drag Train out of the open window. Ese hissed lowly and grabbed Hades; quickly, two flashes of light shot from the barrel of the gun; one missing Train's head and the other, Hiro's.

"I SAID STOP!" Ese shrieked, still holding the steaming gun. Train and Hiro froze, staring at Ese. Train was very surprised only because he knew that Hades was empty...

As Train was still, Hiro figured he could get one more strike in...

"I thought I said cut that out!" Ese hissed, her eyes boiling red; suddenly, Train was on the other side of the room, in air, being held by the inner thoughts of Ese's mind; Hiro was halfway out the window. "IF you don't," she continued through gritted teeth, "I swear I won't miss next time with Hades!"

Soon, as Train noticed, everything in the room started to come off of the floor; everything was floating. But he couldn't figure out why...

Unless...was she having control issues? Was she really so angry that whatever was near her was affected by telekinesis? Train gulped.

"It's all right, Ese" Train said loudly as she turned her head. "Please calm down; I won't hit Hiro anymore. I promise."

Ese stared at Train and he felt his body descending. "And Hiro?" She asked.

"Hiro won't hit Train," Hiro murmured, "If that's what makes my angel happy..."

The bed fell back on the floor and the remnants of the room fell back into place. Ese smiled and looked back at both Train and Hiro, "Good."

After the riot was calmed, the group sat in the living room, Sven drinking coffee, Eve reading a book, Train messing with Hades (and occasionally shooting dirty glances at Hiro) and Ese sat there, thinking. Sven sighed and stood up. "Look, we have to leave. It's time for us to go."

Eve shut her book and nodded. Train shoved Hades in its holster and stood up as well. Ese was about to stand when she was flung back into Hiro's chest. "Where are you going?" He asked, his lower lip in a pout and his eyes pleading. Ese stared, "I'm going with my makeshift family." She responded.

"Don't leave..." Hiro murmured.

Train kicked him in the head, "She's with us." He growled. Hiro glared at Train.

"She's mine," He growled, holding Ese closer. Instead of feeling pleased, Ese just felt enraged.

"With us!" Train shouted, his hand snapping to his gun.

"I'M WITH MYSELF!" Ese shrieked, fluttering away from the both of them and sitting next to Sven. "Leave me alone, you two. Hiro, go away." She growled.

Hiro stared dumbfound. "B-but, my angel..."

"You heard her," Train said with a look of triumph on his face, "She said go away."

Ese hissed. "You too, Train!" Train dropped his stance and stared at Ese. "W-what!"

"Sven, can we leave him?" Ese asked, her cheeks puffed out and her wings fluttering in agitation. Sven was quiet and gave a chuckle after a moment. "I wish...God, I wish..."

Hiro finally gave in and left, vowing that he'd be back to check in with Ese soon. The little makeshift family however, was out on the road and after a few hours, a break from the car was needed. Train sat far away from the car, looking up at the sky; Sven and Eve stood near the vehicle and Ese sat on top of it, turned away from her comrades and debating on how far she could fly away before they could catch her.

=It's currently 3 o clock...=

The radio could be heard in the silence of the country side.

=We are taking a break from our regularly scheduled program to bring you this special report.=

Ese's ear quirked and she turned slightly listening to the radio.

=On the afternoon of the 28th, a terrorist attack to place on the World Conference in San Geles City. Despite the best investigative efforts of both the IBI and law enforcement from every nation, no progress has been made toward an arrest, and the present whereabouts of the group which perpetrated the crime is still unknown.=

Ese turned to Sven, "What's a terrorist?" She asked. Sven looked up at her. "It's usually someone who doesn't like our customs or way of life so they try and destroy it, or terrorize."

"Geh," Train started, tilting his head back to look at Sven, "Why is it the same news again? Sven, see if there's a different channel to listen to."

"Got it."

Despite him talking to Sven, Train was staring at Ese. She huffed and her wings twitched in agitation as she turned away from him; she refused to speak to him all morning, considering his behavior when Hiro was around. Not to say that she thought Hiro was any better.

Sven reached in and turned off the radio; Eve looked over at him and piped up; "Recently no matter which radio station you turn to, everyone's reporting the same news."

Sven grunted. "That's to be expected," he muttered, leaning back out from the car, "Since all of the world federation leaders were killed..."

It was then that Ese was struck with a vision; Creed, his maddened smile glistening as he slaughtered the federation leaders. His band, as they killed the innocent surrounding the meeting. The Tao users, killing innocent humans and blood...as the vision started to fade away into her consciousness, her stomach churned.

"So..." Eve muttered, still talking to Sven. "This really is a major incident..."

After the crew ate some lunch (Minus Ese, for she still felt ill after her epileptic vision) Train spread himself out on the grass, "Yeh-ha!" He exclaimed. "I'm so full! All right, it's time for an afternoon nap!"

"Hey!" Sven shouted, "We don't have time. We have to reach our destination before the end of the day."

"Shotgun" Eve announced. Ese gaped. Train stared at the little girl.

"I don't wanna sit next to Train!" Ese hissed, her wings folding tighter across her back.

"Too bad," Sven muttered, opening the driver's side of the car, "It's no time to be picky; we have to go."

Disdainfully, Ese crawled in the car, squeezing herself to be on the furthest side as possible, attempting to avoid all contact with Train whatsoever.

He slid in the car and looked at her, his eyes encrypted. But Ese didn't care; she was still mad at him and darn it, until the situation said otherwise, she was going to stay mad at him.

"You're talking about Feukeda City?" Train asked, giving up on making conversation with Ese. "Are you sure the target's all ready fled to that city?"

"That's the scoop provided by our information broker, Annette. She probably wouldn't give us the wrong info." Sven was quiet for a moment.

"Oh yeah, Train...I heard something really interesting from Annette."

Even this piped Ese's interest; she sat up a little more and focused on Sven.

"Someone's impersonating the Black Cat." He finished.

Train was silent.

"What! Someone's impersonating me!"

"Yeah. The word is, not so long ago, a person donning a black jacket appeared at a bar in Salisto City calling himself the Black Cat...All of this is hearsay though."

Sven glanced at Train in the rearview mirror. "You'd probably take an interest in this, right?"

Train scoffed, "Why would it? What a joke!" he said with a chuckled. Ese's face screwed up in confusion. She wanted so badly to ask what impersonation meant but at the same time she didn't want Train to answer so she kept her mouth shut.

"What if...he uses your identity to preform evil deeds?" Sven continued.

Train shrugged. "That sort of stuff happens all the time. 'Black Cat' was originally a name that was clearly associated with notoriety. Right now, even if that name has one or two bad deeds added on to it, it has nothing to do with me."

Sven huffed and sighed; "Your reaction is so boring...I thought you'd be furious."

Train grinned and crossed his arms "Heh, I'm an adult! Anyway, is our destination still a long ways away?"

"Oh?" Sven muttered, "Ahh, from the map we should be almost there..."

The car screeched to a stop as Sven looked at the paper with the directions. Ese hated to look at those things, because the jumbled words and colors gave her a headache.

"...ooh!" Sven muttered. "Could it be...that I was supposed to make a left earlier...?"

Train sighed. "That's why I wanted you to hurry up and fix the GPS! It shouldn't be too hard for you, right?"

Sven snapped himself to look at Train "It's not as if I'm an expert with electronics!"

Eve's small hand tapped Sven's shoulder.

"Oh...what is it, Eve?"

The little girl took a breath, "I-I'll help you look." She said with confidence.

Sven nodded and he and Eve climbed out of the car. Ese bit her tongue in frustration; she was now alone with the man that kept flaring her anger. She hunched over and focused herself out the window, not looking at Train. He too, was quiet.

"Hey...?" he called to her softly.

Ese continued to ignore him. She heard him sigh and exit the car as well.

Within a few moments, the three were back in the car, and their journey continued.

When they pulled into town and were settled, Train and Eve seemed a little too enthusiastic. The two were looking about the town vigorously.

"Hey..." Sven called after them, "Are you sure you want to hold a competition?"

"Please don't stop me, Sven," Eve replied. "Sometimes, a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do."

It was at this point that Ese didn't care too much about the situation. She spread her jet wings and fluttered off, leaving her companions behind to explore the town.

The sun was setting in the city and the night life was starting to trickle through the streets. Ese came across a restaurant and her stomach growled. She hadn't realized but she skipped lunch due to her rage toward Train. She sighed and pressed her forehead against the glass window of the establishment.

"Hello pretty lady," A voice said from behind. Growling she turned but only found a heavyset man with a large amount of facial hair and hair that flipped from his shoulders. He had a bag rested on his hip. "Are you hungry?" He asked, his mouth salivating. Ese was told over and over by Sven and Train not to accept anything from strangers, but right now she was starving. She nodded.

"Here we go," the man said with a smile, "I'll treat you to some dinner. After all, I just made a great amount of cash from my last bounty!"

Ese cocked her head. "Bounty? Is fat man a sweeper as well?"

"Hey," The man said, his tone hardening, "Don't you have any respect? Do you know who you're talking to?"

Ese shrugged.

The man snatched up his coat sleeve, exposing an Arabic numeral "13" on his arm; Ese smelt ink, the same kind Sven uses when he's writing things down.

"I'm the wandering bounty hunter...the Black Cat." The man said, a drastic tone touching his voice.

Ese squinted. "...No you're not."

Pffft, looks like Ese told him, no? C:

Sorry I haven't updated in forever everyone! But here's a new chapter to my dedicated viewers and to my new reviewers...thanks so much!


	17. Hit Seventeen: Identity Crisis

I'm back! (For once!) Sorry for my long absence, I've been very busy with my senior year _

Anywho, none of you care about that so one with this!

Black Cat (c) Yabuki Kentaro

Ese (c) Me

Hiro (c) Katrine.

Black Wings

Hit Seventeen: Identity Crisis

The fat man looked at Ese in disbelief, sweat beading his fat forehead. "Wh-what are you talking about? Of course I'm the Black Cat!"

Ese took the time to really look at him. He was a failure at lying, she could smell sweat all over his body. He wasn't fit in the least and though he donned a black jacket, the material was thin and cheap, nothing like Train's actual black jacket.

"Listen," Ese murmured, making her voice as silky as she could muster, you should most definitely drop your charade. It could really be dangerous for you in the future." She started to take a step back and almost turned before the man grabbed her arm. "WAIT! What do you-"

"Don't touch me!" She growled, whirling around and punching him in the face. He fell to the ground, unconscious and Ese relaxed. But she then remembered that it wasn't good or polite to leave an unconscious body in the street. "Dammit..." she muttered, picking up the man's heavy frame. She started to drag him back to the hotel.

She laid out the hefty man in the spare bedroom and started to pace around. She didn't want to tell Train that she found the man pretending to be him, mainly because she was still furious with him and wanted to have nothing to do with his person. But she could tell Sven that she found him, and it would probably clear up a lot of things.

Soon, the trio returned to the hotel and Ese jogged up to Sven. "I...found something. You might want to see it." She glanced at Train quickly and then turned and walked into the room where she kept the imposter.

"It's a fat guy." Sven said bluntly, staring at Ese. "It's the imposter," she explained. "He grabbed me awhile ago and I accidentally knocked him out." Sven sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well," he started, "I suppose it's a good thing he's been found." Sven turned and walked out, lighting one of his paper rolls.

"Hey," Ese heard Train say. Even his voice made her angry and nausea rose in her throat. "What are you planning to do Sven?"

Sven said nothing and took a drag, letting smoke leak from the corners of his lips.

"No matter what she did to knock him unconscious," Train continued, "we don't have to keep this imposter in our room."

"But we couldn't just leave him on the side of the road," Eve said quietly.

Ese stared at the fat man sleeping quietly. He seemed so dopey from his appearance, like a child who has gotten into more trouble than he could manage. She sighed, and wondered why of all impersonations, why did he have to pretend to be the Black Cat? Didn't he realize the consequences of such a dangerous name?

The fat man stirred and his eyes opened groggily. Ese quickly walked out of the room and into the hallway where Sven, Train and Eve had been talking.

Train's head popped up and saw Ese walk out, shortly followed by the fat man. "Oh! Looks like he's awake." Train said with an interested grin.

Ese turned and saw him as a dopey smile crossed his face. He wasn't even angry that she knocked him out on the side of the road. "Oh! Little lady! So it turns out you're here!" The fat man's eyes trailed from Ese to the trio behind her and confusion became apparent on his face. "Who...are they?" he asked.

"We're her...makeshift family, and sweepers by occupation." Sven answered.

"What?" The fat man replied.

Sven took a step forward; he looked stoic and serious. "Alright, there's something I want to discuss with you..."

"Ah!" The fat man interrupted, "That's right! I fainted suddenly from anemia. So you're the ones who saved me! So that's how it is," he finished with a hearty chuckle.

Sven and Ese both stared dumfounded at the man's idiocy. "No, no, no," Ese began, a growl emitting deep within her throat.

"Ah," the fat man continued, "it's a really good thing I ran into you. Because I've been a bit fatigued lately!" He chortled on, laughing about.

"So stupid," Ese muttered under her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"That bastard has it all wrong," Sven grumbled. Train merely laughed, egging on the fat man. "You're a really interesting guy!" He proclaimed. As the fat man laughed, a strange sound came from his stomach and he paused. "Ah, oh yeah I still haven't eaten anything yet." He looked up at the four and smiled, "Oh that's right, to thank you for helping me out, let's eat together. How does that sound? It'll be my treat!"

Train's eyes brightened. "Eh! Really!" he exclaimed. "Alright, alright, I want to go!"

Sven and Ese sighed. This was a conundrum, and Train wasn't helping in the least.

They made their way out, walking in the streets as Train and the man, whose name was Woodney, chattered about like gossiping women.

"You know," Woodney started, looking at Train with a pompous look, "I'm a dangerous bounty hunter...you may have heard of him. The Black Cat..."

"Eh!" Train exclaimed with a large, fake grin plastering his face, "Woodney, you're the Black Cat?"

"That's right!" Woodney continued, lifting his arm to show off the fake, Arabic number 13 on his arm. "The tattoo on my left hand is proof of it!"

Ese grimaced. The stupidity was too much for her already aching head. Though out of the corner of her eye, she could've sworn someone in a silk suit was following them...she tensed her wings and stayed on the alert.

"I'm so moved!" Train exclaimed. "Really?" Woodney egged with a loud laugh.

"Train...that guy..." Sven grumbled. "Even if someone's treated him, there's still no need to flatter him like that."

"He's...only toying with him, right?" Eve asked, staring at Train and Woodney with a agitated look.

"Really, I can't believe that bastard hasn't even noticed Train's tattoo..." Sven finished, with another grumble.

"His head's so big he probably doesn't even notice," Ese muttered. "He's probably so into his own delusion that he honestly thinks that he's the Black Cat and it hasn't crossed his mind on who the real one actually is." She crossed her arms. Her anger towards Train flared more brightly at his stupidity.

"But, it's just as well," Eve said, a small grin lighting up her face, "at least we can save on our food expenses."

"Huh...now I'm ashamed of saying anything bad about him." Sven responded, with a crooked frown.

"Keh, I'm not..." Ese scoffed to herself quietly.

"That's right," Eve continued. "Earlier, when you were talking with Train...you mentioned the burden of the Black Cat's name...what is it?"

Ese quirked up. She wasn't around when Sven told Eve such a thing but now that the little princess brought it up, she wanted to know as well.

"Ah...that..." Sven started softly.

But before he could continue, loud footsteps were heard from behind. Three men in suits stopped behind them, with the man in the middle yelling "All of you, stay where you are!"

The group turned and looked at the group, staring curiously. Ese mentally smacked herself for not being on the alert, as she told herself to do earlier.

The man in the middle of the trio of suits gulped. He had a long scar from the corner of his mouth to his chin. "You're..." he started, staring at Woodney, "The Black Cat, right?"

Train stared at them, his eyes flashing.

"What's the matter?" Woodney asked, giving off a glare. He brought his left arm up. "Despite knowing my name, you still dare to order me to stop. Are you prepared to drown in a sea of blood? Hmm!"

His fake threat made Ese choke on her spit. Shockingly, two men from the group of suits turned bone white and looked very ill. They quickly turned, as a fourth person walked up. "S-Stamper-san!" one of the suits called.

The fourth man walked up with a long over coat donned; he had a short, black pony tail and an x-shaped scar over his left eye; as he walked, he pushed his glasses up and started, "So you're the Black Cat...I never thought I'd be able to meet you in this pitiful backwater village."

The hair on the back of Ese's neck stood up; this man wasn't to be trusted. These were the type of people Woodney didn't want to run into without proper protection. She quickly glanced at Sven, who in turn glanced back worriedly and she snapped her wings to her back; any commotion could turn up with someone getting injured.

"Even though Blum slipped out of our hands," The black ponytail by the name of Stamper continued, "If we bring back the head of a legend, the boss out to be statisfied."

For a moment it seemed like Woodney finally realized the danger he was in, as he stared in wonder at the four suits who stopped them.

But the moment passed quickly and Woodney pointed at his fake tattoo. "Who are you! Don't tell me you don't notice this! Take a closer look! At this!" He repeatedly jabbed his finger at the tattoo, looking angry and frustrated.

"Of course I understand it's meaning," Stamper replied, reaching into his over coat. "I've wanted to fight you for a long time..."

Ese glanced at Sven again, but he was staring at Train; Train had that look in his eye that Ese had seen before; the look of a killer, hardened with no heart.

Stamper took out a pistol from his coat, "About...4 months ago, when the house of Torneo Rudman, a merchant of the underworld, was destroyed by someone...a rumor spread. The Black Cat, who supposedly died two years ago, was apparently still alive in this world...in the guise of a sweeper!" Stamper smiled. "I never thought this could actually be true..." he finished with a chuckle.

Ese then looked at Woodney, who finally, _finally_, understood. A look of fear crossed his face and a bone white chill raked his body. His legs started to tremble and buckle underneath his heavy set body and his accumulated lies.

Stamper lit a paper roll, much like the ones Sven smoked often and held up a coin. "Watch this," he ordered Woodney, who still stared in horrific disbelief as Stamper flipped the coin in the air.

In a flash, he fired his gun and Woodney flinched, clenching his teeth in discomfort. The coin fell, with three large chunks taken out of the sides. One of the suited men smiled, very impressed with his boss.

"What do you think of my skill?" Stamper asked, "having me as an opponent shouldn't be a problem, right, Black Cat...?"

Woodney was frozen. "This..." he muttered...he couldn't continue. Sven stared and Ese sighed; she knew this was going to happen. At least it happened while they were around.

Eve piped up as Train took some steps forward, "That's not enough!" he exclaimed, "It's way too early for a person like you to challenge him!"

Stamper looked unimpressed. "Who...are you...?"

"ME!" Train exclaimed, pointing a thumb at his person, "I am...the Black Cat's disciple!"

Ese choked on her own spit again.

Sven, Eve, the suits and even Woodney looked at Train in shock. "What are you talking about!" One of the suits demanded.

"It's not your turn yet to fight with my master! A mere disciple like me will be enough to handle this!" Train carried on, pointing a finger at Stamper.

"Hey...hey...what are you blabbering about?" Woodney asked quietly, "You'll be killed!"

One of the suits stepped forward, reaching into his jacket, "Mr. Stamper, we'll..."

Stamper pushed his glasses up, "Don't make any unnecessary moves," He ordered. He turned to look at Train. "The Black Cat's...disciple, is it? How very interesting. Without having a warmup event first, how could this show be perfect?" Stamper gently took the paper roll out of his mouth, smoke still billowing softly like a ribbon at one end. He held it out, "here's...the signal." He flicked the paper roll, and it started it's decent to the ground; all eyes were on the smoke and not a breath was heard.

Phew. This chapter consisted of like 3 chapters in the manga. It's been a long time since I've actually sat down and wrote a bit! Sorry for my absence, I want to try and get this story done by the time I leave for boot camp...if I don't, that's going to be one long hiatus...

Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!

-Rie


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